MELBOURNE, Fla. — Residents say flooding concerns are what brought crews out to a Melbourne Beach neighborhood on Monday in the first place. This is where a manatee was discovered stuck in a storm drain.
Recently, the Melbourne Beach Commission approved a plan to survey the storm drains around town and find out what is causing flooding.
“It’s extremely bad,” Erik Sander, a Melbourne Beach resident, said. “Not even during hurricane storms, but just really flash rains.”
Feet of standing water in the streets and, at times, flooding homes, is an issue Sander said now occurs in his neighborhood during typical summer storms.
“It’ll get about waist-deep standing in the road with just over an hour of rain,” Sander said.
Sander said this problem has only developed in the last few years, which is why residents have pressed the commission for help. In response, he told us that the commission is actively surveying the area’s storm drains.
The project led crews right across the street from his neighborhood Monday to Riverview Lane and Oak Street.
“By happenstance, I found a manatee in the storm drain,” Sander said.
According to the commission, multiple stormwater management plans are underway. Right now, crews are working on Basin 1 Infrastructure Improvements. Notice to Residents: Basin 1 Infrastructure Improvements - Town of Melbourne Beach
They said this project will help manage and reduce flooding.
Although the overall timeline for completion across town is uncertain, Sander remains hopeful that the water problems in his neighborhood will end.
“To figure out what type of rain events would cause certain issues and hopefully what comes out of that is the ability to fix the problem,” Sander said.
A stormwater pipe is also being replaced on Riverview Lane. This work is expected to be finished by next week. Projects in Action - Town of Melbourne Beach
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