Floodwaters continue to plague Riviera St. in San Marco, prompting residents to demand solutions from city officials.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Flooding continued to take over San Marco on Wednesday.
Cars appeared to stall in the floodwaters and a lot of people are asking what can be done to stop this from happening in their neighborhoods.
It’s a sight seen time and time again by Chandler Perrer.
“It’s frustrating every time it rains over an inch or two it floods the street,” said Perrer.
Riviera Street in San Marco has flooded once more, making it difficult for Perrer to reach his front door. “I had to park further down the block and it’s challenging to get home with how high the water has risen,” he mentioned.
Inside his house, the floors mirror the submerged streets outside. “Trucks speed down the road, creating waves that crash against the door and damage my neighbors’ cars. It’s a persistent issue.”
First Coast News spoke with Katie McNeal last Tuesday when she was dealing with flooding outside her home on Landon Avenue.
“I just wish the city would take this more seriously,” said McNeal.
Now more than a week later, she’s a couple streets over on Riviera in rain boots, helping her neighbors and warning drivers about the high water.
“That happens all the time. People don’t realize how deep it is and they have parts rip off from the bottom of their cars,” she said.
Developers of the LaSalle Street drainage project say the San Marco pump station is finished. Despite this, residents believe that without additional measures, Riviera Street will continue to resemble a river following every rainstorm.
“The water is very high, it’s past my knees, my boots are full of water, there’s no presence from the city. There’s no JSO presence to prevent cars from getting damaged or damaging properties,” said McNeal.
First Coast News did reach out to District 5 councilman Joe Carlucci on Wednesday. The councilman told us he is trying his best to monitor the situation and work on solutions.
Last week a representative with Haskell, the developers working on the drainage project, said they’re still working on removing and replacing old pipes with new ones.
The project is expected to be completed in March 2026.
