Crews in Sweetwater drained water from a residential block Monday afternoon after showers and canal overflows from Tropical Storm Isaac affected the area.
"The canal levels were very high,” Sweetwater Mayor Manny Maroño said. “When they turned on the retention basin pumps, the canal levels were at 4 feet 8 inches, they soon increased to 5 feet 2 inches. That's way over the normal level.”
Maroño said that although the flooding affected only one neighborhood, it was good practice for the city.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz told NBC 6 South Florida that maintaining canal levels was very important.
"We know this was not the biggest storm that we've dealt with,” Diaz said. “There are more to come and we need to be better prepared with South Florida Water Management, working together to keep these canal levels down.”
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The city of Doral wasn't as lucky. It experienced major flooding, especially in the Design District.
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"We had six inches of rain in 20 minutes,” Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez said. “We had more rain this morning than we got during the whole storm.”
Some business owners said the flooding created a physical roadblock between customers and their stores.
"I've seen people trying to come in down the street here and they literally stop because of the high waters,” Steve Musolini said.
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Some of the flooding occurred over privately-owned roads where the drainage system is poor. Bermudez said some owners invest in drainage while others opt out.
The City of Doral is now hoping to receive federal grants to solve the problem once and for all. It is currently applying to have the area declared a brownfield – an underused or abandoned industrial and commercial facility that is being repurposed.
"We're working with them to make sure that when we turn in the application, this will be dollars we get to fix this area, and also have a public-private partnership,” Bermudez said. “This will hopefully bring a solution – a long-term solution – to this long-term problem.”
