Shore Acres residents fed up with flooding take matters into their own hands: ‘We need solutions’

SHORE ACRES, Fla. - After experiencing three flooding events in four months, Shore Acres residents are fed up. 

"I've been here ten years, and it seems the flooding is only getting worse, and I don't know why that is," Lillian Koziol said.

The Shore Acres Civic Association believes the issue can mainly be blamed on the neighborhood's aging drainage infrastructure.

"Water is coming into our streets and it's because the systems in place have not been maintained by the city over the past several years," said Kevin Batdorf, president of the Shore Acres Civic Association. "They are in disrepair, they need to be corrected immediately, not a year and a half from now, not five years from now. Immediately need to be corrected."

Batdorf said he recently met with the city of St. Petersburg Public Works Department.

A truck drives through flood waters in Shore Acres. 

"During a recent meeting with the head of engineering, we were told that they were going to start a new study which was going to take a year and a half," Batdorf explained. "They were going to start it this month, which would identify problems and potential solutions."

Batdorf said residents can't wait that long.

READ: Shore Acres neighborhood accounts for 82% of St. Pete's flood damages from Hurricane Idalia

"We need solutions. We need them now and we need long-term solutions for the future," he shared.

People on a boat travel through flood waters. 

In preparation for Tuesday's severe weather, the city took added precautions like street sweeping, door-to-door sandbag distribution, and drainage cleaning.

Batdorf explained the civic association is taking matters into their own hands.

"I've applied for a grant through the National Association of Realtors to conduct a study of the flooding problem," he explained. "This would be an independent study, clear eyes. It won't be paid for by citizens of Shore Acres."

READ: 'Shore Acres Strong' logo unites community after Hurricane Idalia, raises money for relief fund

Gary Mitchum, USF associate dean and professor of physical oceanography conducted a study in 2019 that revealed the issue for low-lying areas like Shore Acres is projected to only get worse.

Flood waters reach a Shore Acres home. 

Mitchum said it's due to warmer waters, which in turn causes rising sea levels, fluctuating tides, and more frequent and intense rainfall. In turn, flooding events annually are expected to skyrocket.  

He said "In the past decades, we expected to see about seven of these flooding events we talked about. By the time about mid-century, we're going to be at 70."

Mitchum said it's why Governor DeSantis signed the Resilient Florida bill into law in 2021.

Cars drive through Shore Acres flood waters. 

"Cities and counties can write proposals to the state in order to improve their resilience," Mitchum explained.

In August, the city of St. Petersburg was awarded $20.4 million in Resilient Florida grants from the Florida DEP.  It's unclear whether any of those funds are being put towards Shore Acres infrastructure specifically.