Homes in Escambia County’s Wind Rose Lane neighborhood have flooded again and again – in 2012, in April 2014, in Hurricane Sally. Water rises out of a stream in the greenbelt running behind the neighborhood and surges through yards, living rooms, and across the street. Dozens of residents have bailed out and started over after each flood. FEMA’s newest flood maps actually remove the neighborhood from the floodplain. Clearly, that’s a mistake.
Residents aren’t sure what to do. The stream behind the neighborhood could be clogged, and two stormwater ponds serving the area are badly in need of maintenance and repair. Whatever the underlying cause of the flooding, residents need help. The county can start by providing Wind Rose with a plan, and by petitioning FEMA to re-declare the area a flood zone to ensure residents have flood insurance.
The Wind Rose neighborhood has flooded repeatedly – in 2012, 2014, and Hurricane Sally. Residents are rightfully frustrated. Some have even left the neighborhood entirely, as evidenced by vacated properties and “for sale” signs. But it doesn’t have to be like this.
The county can help address flooding in the neighborhood. That starts with a plan. The county should send staff to the neighborhood to identify what’s causing the flooding and determine the best solutions to effectively address the issue.
Send a letter to Commissioner Jeff Bergosh below asking the county to develop a plan to address Wind Rose’s flood issues. We’ve provided an email below, but you can customize it by adding your own experiences or uploading a photo of flood damage at your house.
Once a plan to address the flooding issues in Wind Rose is adopted and funded, we’ll make the project gets moving quickly. Residents don’t have time for work to sit on the back burner.
Good flood protection takes time, but we’ll push local leaders to work efficiently toward solutions for Wind Rose. We’ll make sure the county is providing real solutions, too – we want long-term protection for Wind Rose residents.