- Tuesday marks two months since historic rainfall led to flash flooding in the Tallahassee area.
- Some neighborhoods received nearly a foot of rain.
- Watch the video above to see how some of that water is being handled in Northeast Tallahasseee.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
It’s been two months since historic rainfall led to flooding in neighborhoods across Tallahassee. That high water is still being dealt with.
I’m Kendall Brandt your Northeast Tallahassee neighborhood reporter. Water levels are dropping here at Pedrick Pond Park as the county works to remove the high water, but some neighbors have concerns that the water isn’t going away fast enough.
Jose Martinez has lived across from Pedrick Pond Park for over 30 years and says the April 11 storms filled up the pond the most he has seen. "A flood like this we haven’t seen since they put the retaining pond here."
He says he has loved the space at Pedrick Pond Park and is happy to see the flood water go down from the area a bit. “We were taking our family to the park and we haven’t been able to do that for a couple months now.”
I spoke with him two weeks ago, when water at the pond looked like this from the so-called “bicentennial” storm.
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Some neighborhoods picked up nearly a foot or rain. I brought his concerns to Anna Padilla, a water resource engineer with the county. County leaders say they have to be careful when they pump to not overwhelm other storm water facilities.
“Right now, we are pumping to increase capacity so it’s not so full as we go into hurricane season should we have another big storm event so that water has some place to go and not on top of the road.”
I stopped by Tuesday afternoon. The pumps were running and sending water south down Pedrick Road to Lake Lafayette. Other storm water facilities and ditches on the side of the road still have water two months after the storms.
But as a retired state engineer with 34 years of experience, Martinez says he worries the pump is not working properly. “I notice the pump leaks a lot, and it’s going right back into the retaining lake or pond.”
Padilla says some water is going back in to the pond, but it isn’t a concern and evaporation should take care of the water over time. “We are pumping uphill and water flows downhill, but for the most part the water that is running through that pipe and through the pump is going down and up the other direction.”
Martinez says he hopes humidity remains low so the water will evaporate quickly and he can resume his evening routine walks with his wife.
“As soon as the park is ready, we will be here and enjoying it and seeing people around the park. That’s what we love.”
Pedrick Pond Park is still open, but if you want to spend some time outdoors here, remember that you still cannot walk all of the trails around the pond.
