Some cars could not get through the streets off Burnt Store Road on Monday due to flooding.
Neighbors said they hope the storm drains do a better job the rest of the rainy season.
“When I moved in here, there was no flooding," said 15-year resident Larry Tiller. "When it rained, it went right out the drains with no problem.”
Now, Tiller said that’s not the case in his neighborhood.
“The drains at every intersection have just been, like, they're plugged up and the water is knee deep at each little crossing or intersection," Tiller said.
Rain puddled up across northwest Cape Coral.
Tiller said it has been happening ever since Irma and Ian.
“There was so much construction, a lot of debris laying around on construction sites, and I think that washed into the drains, a lot of it," Tiller said.
City of Cape Coral Public Works and stormwater engineer Jordan Zamary said construction debris does get caught up in the storm drains.
He said they can limit that by slowing the flow of that stormwater.
“We don't want it all to go out to the canal system at once, or it's going to carry all that debris with it," Zamary said. "The sand, the muck, the grass clippings, all of that stuff that we're trying to keep out of the system.”
He said the city works to replace aging pipes as time and money allow.
In the Cape, 21% of storm pipes are over 40 years old.
That’s why the city wants to hear from you if you have any flooding that goes beyond three days.
“We've started trying to collect data at the neighborhood level to make sure that if there are outstanding issues that have not been reported in the past, we could start to become more proactive," Zamary said.
Tiller hopes the water clears up so he can resume his walks.
“Since I lost my dog, I still get out on the scooter," Tiller said. "But in conditions like this, I can't get no more than two houses that way, and I can't go more than about three or four houses this way, and I'm blocked by flooding.”
The city of Cape Coral has a survey on its website that you can fill out to let it know about any flooding issues on your street.
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