PALM COAST, Fla. — The City of Palm Coast has a new task force to identify problems and concerns about water retention in homeowners’ yards.

What You Need To Know

  • So far, about 50 residents in the City of Palm Coast have filed a case for flooding concerns 

  • The city has put together a task force to identify the issues

  • Residents experiencing flooding are asked to submit a Palm Coast Connect Case on the city website so their team can begin to investigate

Residents in the “P-section” of the city say instead of water flowing from the back of their house to the front, it is pooling in their backyard, and even stalling in the front at times.

One of those residents, Melissa Dunn, says the issue began after new homes were built up on her street. Five years ago when she moved in, Dunn says she didn’t have any water issues. Instead, it was mostly empty lots waiting to be sold and or developed.

“We were having such flooding issues 8,9- even 11 inches of water in the backyard,” Dunn said. “We had to bring a company in and they brought a bobcat in here and they tore up all the yard.”

A new backyard wasn’t something she’s been planning. Neither was expecting to see her bedroom surrounded by water.

“When it rains, the water comes up to 1/8 of an inch of our door here,” Dunn said. “We were going to flood.”

Before the city offered to help, Dunn took matters in to her own hand, boarding up the bottom of her fence, installing drain pipes, and even re-grading.

Seven boxes later, tons of river rock, and hundreds of feet of pipe that is totaling $12,000, she is hoping the backyard won’t look like a pool.

The city says about 50 residents have already reached out asking for the new task force to look into their respective issues.

“We have a minimum height elevation which is 12 inches from the crown of the road. We do not have a maximum currently,” city communications director Brittany Kershaw said. “Our stormwater department, even before these complaints started coming in, has been reviewing our technical manual that is for all new builds.”

Each new building is required to have a stormwater drainage plan. In addition to maintaining over 1000 miles of drainage swales, the city also has 500 miles of pipes which were receiving routine maintenance Wednesday.

The city maintains the swales, but owners are responsible for making sure the pipe underneath the driveway is clear.

Residents experiencing flooding are asked to submit a Palm Coast Connect Case on the city website so their team can begin to investigate.