HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — As we approach the height of our hurricane season, the ticking clock is stirring memories of last year's devastation for some.
Town 'N' Country homeowner Sebastian Legros is still living in an RV on his property, as he finalizes renovations to his home.
WATCH Jada Williams report on the data behind the cause of flooding in Hillsborough County:
"There was a lot of bad contractors in the area, so I ended up doing a lot of the stuff myself," he said.
Legros says he never expected to see flood waters when he checked his home security during the storm.
“We got flooded… it was about four to five inches of water,” he recalled.
Legros and his family, who had evacuated to Land O' Lakes, were not prepared for the storm surge that infiltrated their home through the drains.
“I thought storm surge would only affect the houses that are actually on the water,” he explained.
He tells me throughout his neighborhood, people are keeping a close eye on the county and the maintenance to keep them safe.
“We’ve been trying to get them to solve drainage issues, especially on one street that floods even with light rain,” he noted.
In response to last year's extreme weather events, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners initiated an independent stormwater evaluation conducted by engineering consultant Black and Veatch. The evaluation included public engagement through eight Open House meetings, allowing residents to share their experiences and identify areas needing attention.
Josh Bellotti, the county's Engineering and Operation's Director says this initial presentation marks the beginning of a comprehensive review of stormwater management.
The presentation begins with looking at just how catastrophic last hurricane season was on the county.
The analysis found cumulative rainfall exceeded the next highest year by 22%. The county recieved 80.29 inches of rainfall throughout 2024. Hurricane Milton alone contributed to 10- to15-plus."
Of the hundreds of residents engaged for the study, told Black & Veatch that their homes were not in the FEMA flood zone. However, Black & Veatch said it's worth noting that their homes are included within the County’s mapped floodplain.
Black & Veatch identified maintenance on ditches as a high concern for residents, yet the analysis found they're not as bad as many think.
"Your inspection reports indicate that most of those are in pretty good condition. They're at a minimum fair but in some were in good condition," Jon Dinges told county commissioners.
Black & Veatch noticed a possible discrepancy between public perception and reality.
"We reviewed all the asset management data, and we found that those were the county owned ditches were in pretty good shape. The real key challenge here is you don't have access to very many of them. It's actually a fairly small percentage, and so it's difficult to kind of parse out what is your responsibility versus what's privately owned and then what's natural waterways, because you can't just dredge a natural waterway."
They recommended the county look at its high risk ditches for a detailed maintenance plan, adding some of that work is already underway.
Pump stations have also become a hot topic following Hurricane Milton. The City of Tampa has been under a watchful eye by residents in Forrest Hills and University Area due to failures. The county's pump stations have drawn similar attention.
Black & Veatch found many of the county's pump stations are nearing their end of design life. The county is in the process of a pump station assessment modernization plan.
51% of the county was developed prior to 1982. That's when new stormwater regulations were established for new developments.
According to the report, the county has to complete 470 repair projects and 132 stormwater drainage improvement projects.
There's also the financial aspect. Black & Veatch suggests the county stands to save $120 million in flood damages once stormwater maintenance upgrades are completed.
"Another item that we have underway right now is a rate study. So we have a stormwater assessment that's a non ad valorem assessment that residents see on their tax bill. And so as part of the evaluation of the rate study that's going to come back to the board, they're going to include these elements that were identified by Black and Veatch, such as increasing the frequency and level of service of maintenance, as well as increasing the investment in capital projects to improve stormwater," Bellotti explained.
You can read more on the study here.
“This is an ongoing process. We are continually looking at both immediate and long-term solutions,” Bellotti said, emphasizing staff members are actively working six days a week to maintain the stormwater system and prepare it for the upcoming hurricane season. “Thousands of miles of buried pipes and stormwater ditches make up our stormwater system, and our crews have cleaned hundreds of miles of ditches,” he added.
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