NORTH PALM BEACH, Fla. — Walter Eckler says all it takes is an afternoon rainstorm to cause flooding right outside his house in a North Palm Beach neighborhood off Alternate A1A and Lorraine Court.
The flooding has been an issue for the last five years, and Eckler has brought it up to village leaders.
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"We flood and we need a drain," Eckler said.
"We get one inch of rain, these speed bumps are to the top," Eckler said.
Eckler brought the issue up to me at a Let's Hear It event, and I followed up with Village Manager Chuck Huff.
"I want to let him know that we are working on it, that we're not just abandoning him or abandoning the rest of his neighbors," Huff said.
Huff says the village is aware of the problem and has tried to mitigate it by installing an exfiltration trench.
"It's not very big, but we believe that it's helping. And then we've taken and we have cut on the speed table, cut the sides off so you have water to be able to flow more to the east," Huff said.
However, Eckler wants a more permanent fix.
"The French drain has done absolutely nothing," Eckler said.
"I think they've had enough time to fix this problem, or at least get it a little further along," Eckler said.
Huff says given the timing of other capital projects, a storm drain on Lorraine Court will have to wait at least two to three years.
"We need to put in infrastructure for the septic to store, and then we would put in, while that is all opened up, we would put in the storm drainage as well," Huff said.
In the meantime, the village says it is investigating what may be contributing to the flooding on the street.
"There are other contributing factors, and I'm hoping that we can find what those are to help alleviate the stress that he's going through, because if I were him, I'd be upset as well," Huff said.
For now, Eckler says he is taking it one rainstorm at a time.
"It would be nice if you came and followed up on it. We'll see where it goes. See what the village does," Eckler said.
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