PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Bay County says they are working hard to clear the storm water system as fast as possible.
The system works to keep streets from flooding, and after Hurricane Michael, it was heavily obstructed by debris.
“We’ve removed over a million cubic yards of material from the system,” said Keith Bryant, Public Works Director for Bay County. He says it’s a dangerous job.
“Unfortunately we lost an employee when a tree fell on him,” said Bryant. “He’s still not back to work. There are snakes.”
He also said getting the system back into shape is critical.
“If we don’t get this system back to pre-storm conditions we’ll have to rewrite the flood maps,” said Bryant.
According to the county, they’re more than half way finished with the project; southern Bay County is cleared, now they’re working on the north. The potential for some heavy rain this week is a test.
“I’m optimistic that the system will perform well,” said Bryant. “We put a lot of work into it, it’s cleaner than it’s ever been. I’d be more comfortable if it were complete but we’re getting closer every day.”
He says residents should prepare as they normally would for potential flooding, especially in areas where flooding is a common problem. As of now the storm water system is expected to be completely cleared by October.
