A Key Largo neighborhood plagued by tidal flooding could get some relief, if a road elevation and drainage project gets the easements needed from certain property owners.
The project inside Winston Waterways, which has $51 million in state and federal funds, would also need 51% of property owners’ support.
A virtual meeting hosted by the county on April 21 was the second opportunity for property owners to be informed of the project, the process and the hurdles that need to be cleared before any construction.
County Commissioner Holly Raschein began by acknowledging her support for the project. And she’s hoping the residents will back it too.
“We know that you are already experiencing sunny day flooding on some of the roads,” she said. “I’ve witnessed the flooding myself, having been one of your former neighbors for over a decade.”
Consultant Erin Deady said the Keys are experiencing more tidal flooding due to sea level rise. She said the Winston Waterways neighborhood is also seeing increased groundwater and the inability for water to be drained properly.
“Monroe County has been at this a while in terms of developing and designing road elevation projects for certain areas throughout the county to make the community more resilient to these current and future flooding impacts that you’re going to see over time,” she said.
Julianna Ortiz, a professional engineer, said the solution would include elevating the roads to meet 2045 flood projections. Seventeen roads in the Winston Waterways community, from Michelle Drive and Gale Place on the west to Valencia Road on the east, are proposed for raising to various heights. A drainage system would also need to be installed to prevent any adverse impacts from moving the water onto neighboring properties.
She said the drainage system includes a collection system with inlets and pipes and a pump station with backup generators, and an injection well. Some roads would be raised more than a foot, while others would be elevated anywhere from 0.1 to 0.5 feet. Access driveways along elevated roads would be adjusted to provide a smooth transition to the newly elevated roads.
Greg Corning, engineer with WSP, said the project will collect rainfall and mitigate king tide impacts. Gravity pipes will be placed along the roads. A pump station will be located on Lignumvitae Road, just east of Tamarind Road. Corning said the pump station will capture and treat the water before it heads to an injection well 120 feet deep.
Corning said the easements needed for the project would allow for the installation of inlets.
An easement is an agreement between the individual property owner and the county providing permission to use a limited area of private property for a specific use, which in this case would be for stormwater inlets. Deady said the project needs different types from property owners: a linear, 12-foot easement that would allow for swale areas, as well as 5-by-5-foot or 5-by-10-foot easements for inlets.
The South Florida Water Management District also says permitted projects cannot affect adjacent property owners, meaning they have to put drainage structures in place to make sure there are no adverse impacts from the road elevation.
Without the easements, the project cannot be completed.
“The road can’t be elevated and the current flooding that you’re seeing and the future flooding that we project that you will see more of will not be addressed, and it will worsen over time,” Deady said.
She said the property owners providing the easements would receive some level of flood benefit. She said the property would still be able to use the land where the easement is, but they wouldn’t be able to interfere with the new drainage structures.
Letters were sent to property owners regarding the easements. Rhonda Haag, county chief resilience officer, said they would need to be signed and returned by Friday, May 1. If the needed easements are secured, the county will be able to proceed by completing design plans and permit applications to state and federal regulatory agencies.
Property owners will have the opportunity to vote on whether they want the project constructed once the final cost is known, and, if approved, an annual assessment will be set. County commissioners previously decided that property owners benefiting from the project will fund the capital shortfall, if any, between the actual construction cost and the grant funding awarded. This can be accomplished through a capital assessment implemented for a limited number of years.
