ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — "We are in a low lying area," Marcus Pinson described his Davis Shores neighborhood in St. Augustine.
From his home this weekend, he saw water flow onto the roads and into some of his neighbors' homes. It happened during a nor'easter.
Pinson knows about flooding. Hurricane Matthew damaged his home in 2016, so he rebuilt and elevated it. During this weekend’s noreaster, his house was OK, but he still keeps a watch on the water.
"We always keep our ears up and wits about us. Just in case," he said, "because things can change at the last minute."
His neighborhood has been through a lot, or maybe you could say a lot of water has been through his neighborhood.
In the last year or so, the City of St. Augustine has been working on two parcels along Quarry Creek which often flood into the neighborhood. That land is called Coquina Park. The city’s goal was to keep water along the park’s edge from flooding into the nearby streets and homes, so the city built up that land to seven feet above sea level. That's higher than most of the neighborhood. The city also built a higher wall around the creek there.
During this past weekend’s nor'easter, the water did not overtop it, but the neighborhood still flooded. Why?
Water from surrounding creeks and marshes found backdoors into the neighborhood. Water rushed into Davis Shores during high tide from other low-lying spots.
Rueben Franklin explained the issue, "We raised one area up, but four blocks down, there’s another low-lying area that now becomes that breach point."
Franklin said told First Coast News the city is trying to address other weak, low spots. The goal is to ultimately create a berm around the neighborhood to seven feet above sea level, but it takes time and money and cooperation from neighbors.
"A lot of it is private property owners (which have low waterfront land), so we'll work to continue this program of trying to work with private property owners to raise that elevation up," Franklin said.
Pinson, who also works for the city, thinks the city’s long term plan is good, but he feels for his neighbors who are waiting until the city’s full flood plan is in place.