MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — As counties across our area prepare for rain and clear drainage ditches, a low-lying Martin County community says they've had a drainage issue for years, and are worried Hurricane Milton will put them under water.
"It's overflowing, and now we have a storm approaching, and it might cause potential flooding in our area," said Port Salerno resident Georgina Anderson.
Anderson lives in the New Monrovia Park community, and her home sits right next to one of the community's drainage ditches.
Already, the ditch is filled to the brim with about nine inches of rain, as water is pooling across yards and lawns of nearby homes. Milton hasn't even hit yet.
However, the water doesn't seem to be draining from the ditches into the community's retention pond, and Anderson said it's been like this for years.
"We've experienced flooding several times on this street," said Anderson.
Anderson is now worried the additional 5-8 inches of rain Milton is forecast to bring to the area could overflow the canal and flood her whole street, and about five of her neighbors told WPTV they feared the same thing.
Anderson said she's reached out to the county several times about this before, and Sunday filed a ticket with the county's request for service program.
The automated message she received said she'd hear back by Oct. 10, but Anderson said she fears by then it won't matter.
"It might be too late, if we do have [Milton] coming in our path, then I might take in about four or five inches of rain and it might flood out my home," said Anderson. "We just need proper drainage."
Anderson and her neighbors said they'd like the county to consider installing a water pumping station, similar to what the county gave Hobe Sound in September 2020.
"They've done that for other communities, why not New Monrovia?" asked Anderson.
We reached out to the county to address concerns. Spokesperson Martha Ann Kneiss said public works crews came back out to check the drainage ditches twice after speaking to us, and found they are working properly, but are inundated with rainwater we’ve been receiving recently.
Crews say they are now following up with each individual resident’s service ticket to address any issues before the storm and are checking on other areas of the county, too.
Anderson fears only Milton’s aftermath will tell.
"I'm hoping for improvement, not just for my street but for my neighbors as well," said Anderson. "Just more community involvement with our county commissioners. Something needs to be done."
WPTV will continue pressing for answers.
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