Fort Lauderdale defends stormwater upgrades as residents worry

Flashback: The multiyear stormwater management project launched after the historic flooding in April 2023.

• The initiative upgrades stormwater infrastructure across 25 low-lying neighborhoods including the installation of new pump stations.

The latest: River Oaks residents said the neighborhood's $50 million stormwater upgrades, including a pump station operating since December 2024, couldn't handle the rainfall and prevent flooding last month.

• The flooding has fueled neighbors' concerns that their new pump won't be able to protect their homes.
• "It's worrying," Alex Florence, vice president of the Progresso Village Civic Association, tells Axios.
• He says the neighborhood hasn't felt at ease since hearing what happened in River Oaks. The city is installing a pump in Progresso Village, one of eight phase one neighborhoods.

The other side: The city tells Axios that the stormwater improvements in River Oaks are working as intended.

• A city spokesperson says the pump station in River Oaks ran for 132 hours and removed more than 50 million gallons of stormwater in September.
• In October so far, the pump has removed more than 9 million gallons of stormwater.