City of Pensacola prepares for flash flood watch

To date, crews have been working diligently to assess all major components of the City stormwater management system to identify damage from the flooding event and any non-functional facilities (ponds, etc.) that may have been taken off-line by the flooding. Crews are currently further evaluating and performing necessary work in historical flood-prone areas in an attempt to verify that storm infrastructure is prepared to receive predicted rainfall this weekend, to the greatest extent possible. This work includes the clearing of debris from stormwater inlets, re-directing stormwater from damaged areas, stabilizing damaged infrastructure and freeing-up any observed blockages in the system as a result of the recent flood.

All pond facilities that are able to be pumped down are either already at their lowest achievable levels or are currently still being pumped to lowest levels. Many facilities have already been repaired and/or maintained throughout the City and crews will continue to address any issues that have been identified and any others that surface. Public Works and Facilities will be working through the weekend to continue progress on current issues and will be on standby to address any new issues that may develop from forecasted rainfall in a timely manner.

Citizens are encouraged to continue to report any city public works damage to 311. The City is also encouraging citizens in need of other services due to the flood to continue to call the United Way of Escambia County 2-1-1 hotline. The 2-1-1 service allows the United Way to record all needs in a database and then send to the Emergency Operations Center. This also allows the United Way to share information with groups such as the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities, Operation Blessing, The Southeast Baptist Association and others who have signed confidentiality agreements necessary to access the information released by 2-1-1 callers who need help.