WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — They are busy in the operations center at South Florida Water Management Districtheadquarters. The overhead displays show images of the approaching storm. Water managers deal with an intricate, huge web of canals stretching across our region, a system focused on flood control.
Amid the glow of computer displays, technicians remotely manage 2,100 miles of canals, 700 structures, and 80 pump stations.
RELATED: Potential Tropical Cyclone One to bring heavy rain, flooding to South Florida
Adnan Mirza is the assistant chief for the operations center. He told me, "We are making sure we are doing what we call a pre-storm drawdown, bringing water levels down in anticipation of the rainfall we are expecting."
Right now, billions of gallons of water are headed east toward the ocean or south to water conservation areas. There are no guarantees, ever, about making us floodproof, but water management experts are confident their 24/7 monitoring efforts can mitigate the impact of this weekend's expected big rains.
If you have flooding issues at your home or neighborhood, there's an easy way to find out which local water drainage district to contact.
You can learn more by watching this video:
