Residents share infrastructure, stormwater concerns for final Hillsborough post-disaster recovery meeting

Lessons learned after last year's hurricanes

Thursday marks one year since Hurricane Milton came roaring on our shores, and Hillsborough County is checking in with businesses and residents to make sure they are doing enough after a disaster happens. Briona Arradondo reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - A day before the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Milton, Hillsborough County checked in with businesses and residents on Wednesday to make sure agencies are addressing needs and concerns after a storm as part of its final post-disaster redevelopment plan.

What we know:

Hillsborough County agencies met with the community on Wednesday to go over their post-disaster redevelopment plan.

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"There are still individuals that are displaced from that last hurricane season that are still living in either hotels or they’re couch-surfing with relatives or friends or something along that capacity where they are not able to go back into their home," said Tramaine Whittey of Hillsborough County Affordable Housing Services.

Local perspective:

Some residents, like Hal Sparks, are still making repairs. He said Milton flooded his Carrollwood home with a foot of water, and he thinks infrastructure is to blame.

"It’s not over yet. It’s been really stressful for the family, and I feel like it should have been avoided. I feel like planning this little development, a gated community, in the middle of a conservation area, is at the root cause of my problems," said Sparks.

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Sparks asked the representatives at the Tampa meeting on Wednesday what they are doing to address watershed impacts to neighborhoods. He would like to see resiliency and infrastructure to be top of mind, but he couldn’t get his specific questions answered during the meeting.

"They need to think about the floodplain. You can’t control Mother Nature," said Sparks. "The water’s going to flow downhill. It’s going to seek its lowest level. And if you impede it, it’s going to hurt people."

What they're saying:

The panel couldn’t answer questions on stormwater management or resilient infrastructure during the meeting.  C.K. Moore with Hillsborough County Emergency Management said that’s a common concern he’s heard.

"We have the stormwater side, but we also have the wastewater side. A lot of times when we have this stuff it’s the storm water and the wastewater that comes together, and now you’re trying to move bodies of water. And if the water has nowhere to go, then that’s when you start getting the flooding," said Moore, the planning section chief at the Hillsborough County Office of Emergency Management.

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Moore said the county is working on lift stations to better move the water out. Officials said Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton dealt different challenges, from wind damage to flooding.

"Sometimes, it would be we were out on patrol and trying to help folks out, and then you stumble upon a place that’s flooded. Like what happened here?" said Moore.

What's next:

The county will finish its post-disaster redevelopment plan, and then it will go to the administrator for review and then the county commission in the coming months. They also plan to develop a regional response plan.