The City of St. Cloud provided a broad overview of flooding mitigation efforts on Wednesday afternoon:
State Rep. Fred Hawkins and County Commissioner Ricky Booth met with City Manager Veronica Miller, Mayor Nathan Blackwell and other leaders at the city's Emergency Operations Center, and received an update.
Lake Levels: East Lake Toho is expected to crest around 61 feet by Friday; it’s currently at 60.9 feet. City officials and the South Florida Water Management District to monitoring the lake levels with cautious optimism that the lake level will stabilize over the next few days.
More than 4,000 addresses of residents who live in floodplain areas that they may be impacted by flood waters have been notified, because East Lake Toho is above flood stage. The current dry weather is helping (only a small chance of rain is forecast through Sunday). Despite the outstanding weather, public boat ramps remain closed, and boaters are asked to stay off the lakes for the time being. Pumps and other structures are now under the surface of the water and pose a hazard.
Solid Waste: The City now has five clam trucks collecting storm debris. As of this Wednesday morning, an incredible 81 tons of yard debris have been collection since the storm. The city is not been charging to remove vegetative storm debris, and will continue cleaning it up without billing residents. Teams have focused on collecting tree debris in floodplain areas. Crews will be getting to every street in the city. There have been a few reports of yard debris being placed under power lines and against mailboxes. Clam trucks cannot pick up items left under power lines for safety reasons, or pick up items next to mailboxes without damaging the mailboxes.
Wildlife: Keep in mind wildlife also is impacted by rising waters, increasing the likelihood of encountering alligators, snakes and other woodland wildlife. Nuisance alligators can be reported to Florida Fish and Wildlife at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).
Flood Mitigation: In the Blackberry Creek area, water continues to recede as water's pumped from the area into Canal 31. Five high-volume pumps are running in the 2nd Street Ditch, diverting the water to Canal 31. These operations will allow water in the Blackberry Creek and Commerce Park area to drain.
At the Lakefront, crews built berms and are using sandbags to block off the ponds to prevent water from the lake from entering the ponds. High-volume pumps deployed there will pump water out of those ponds back into the lake. Lowering the water levels in the pond will give overflowing stormwater a place to drain, reducing the potential of street flooding should we get more rain.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District continue to manage the water flow into and out of our area. Our neighbors to the north and south of us also are inundated with water from Hurricane Ian.
Commerce Center Drive (Old Canoe Creek to Blackberry) and Blackberry Creek Drive (Commerce Center to Creek Bed) remain closed to traffic.
Please do not wade into flood waters, and please be cautious, especially near lakes and other bodies of water.
