The saltwater burbled up — across roads and yards and parks, out of street drains and over the top of crumbling sea walls — a seeping nuisance that every year becomes more of threat for waterfront South Florida.
Seasonal king tides, the annual spate of highest tides of the year, brought coastal flooding across much of the region — much of it relatively minor and brief, thanks in large part to mostly clear and dry skies. Forecasters say Wednesday was likely to be the highest of them for the year, although another handful are still ahead on the calendar and if they coincide with heavy rains, it can easily raise flooding levels.
While the tides are nothing new, many people who live in impacted neighborhoods worry they’re getting higher.
Roads were impassable at Matheson Hammock Park off Old Cutler Road. On entry, a sign flashed to warn drivers to “caution” for “salt water ahead.”
Gerald Wolfe, a Miami resident of 40 years, tried to unload his boat at the marina, but high winds sent him back to his truck on the dock. He pulled out slowly to prevent the water, which rose to just under his truck door, from getting in his engine.
He’s used to king tides, he said, but “this is exceptional. I don’t remember it this bad.”
King tides are natural. They’ve always been higher than usual this time of year. But scientists agree they’re also supercharged by human-caused climate change, which has sent sea levels climbing in recent decades. Compared to three decades ago, the sea is about eight inches higher.
A look at king tide and what it means for Tampa Bay
In low-lying South Florida, that’s enough to overtop docks, creep up through waterfront drains and submerge some streets. And it’s happening within most residents’ lifetimes.
In Miami’s Little Havana, Skip Alligood, who owns a house right along Grove Park, right by the Miami River, has been here for 22 years.
“It’s getting worse and worse each year — next year, it’ll reach my driveway,” he said. The only solution, he said, is for the city to fix the sea wall.
“That would increase the property value, but right now, it’s decreasing, because who would want to move here, with this going on,“ he said, standing a couple of feet from the rising water that had already flooded part of the park, the parking lot and public trash cans that were floating around.
Property value dropping is a big worry for civic leaders and residents alike in South Florida, especially with predictions calling for sea levels to rise another foot in the next 30 years, or about two feet in total by 2060. However, even in some of the region’s most flood-prone neighborhoods, prices have either held steady or risen, as experts say the benefits of living waterside still outweigh the costs of an occasional flooded garage or home — for most people.
At Gateway Terrace, a senior living facility in Fort Lauderdale, tidal flooding from the South Fork of the Middle River rushed over the sidewalk like a mini-rapids.
Cathy Sutter, a 15-year resident, said the seasonal floods seem to be getting worse each year, but residents of the waterside complex have learned to adapt, moving their cars to higher ground in advance of the flooding. But the ankle-high wading boots she wore Wednesday morning at peak tide weren’t quite enough. She laughed as she poured them out.
“This is the price we pay for living here,’’ said Sutter.
The floods this week have mainly been an inconvenience, filling the parking lot and drawing TV news crews. But it caused no damage to the units, though Sutter’s was inundated once during a hurricane.
In Hollywood, Broward County Mayor Beam Furr cruised the flooded streets in the Hollywood Lakes neighborhood, surveying for damage. He knows better than to drive his car through deep puddles after watching thousands of his fellow county residents lose their cars in flash street flooding during heavy rains.
“It’s high,” he said. “Nothing unexpected. Thank goodness we don’t have rain on top of this or storm surge on top of this or hurricanes on top of this. I think we can handle this.”
Want to know what areas are flooding in Tampa Bay? Here’s where to look
His other takeaway, Furr said, is that it’s even more important for county, city and state governments to address this flooding.
South Florida governments have sunk tens of millions into infrastructure investments to keep their streets and residents dry in the face of encroaching tides. Miami Beach has spent hundreds of millions elevating roads. Fort Lauderdale has raised sea walls. Miami-Dade has installed permanent new stormwater pump stations to fight gravity and force the water back into canals.
And yet, experts say, it will take billions more to fully prepare the region for the onslaught of water.
To keep track of how fast the water is rising — and where — teams of citizen scientists fanned out across Miami-Dade to jot down the valuable data. It’s the tenth year of Florida International University’s Sea Level Solutions Day, where volunteers are trained to scoop up water samples, snap pictures of depth and report it back to the scientists running the show.
In Grove Park, Monique Bennema pulled up her red and green pants and waded into the water. Right where a sea wall is supposed to keep the water from flooding the park, she stood more than knee deep and measured the depth at around 2 feet. It was 10:56, exactly high tide.
“I never fully realized how big the impact from king tide really is,“ she said, then snapped a picture of the measurement.
Originally from the Netherlands, she’s 59 and moved here recently from New England to work as the Dutch consulate‘s economic policy officer on water management. She sees lots of similarities in terms of flooding, but also says cities in the Netherlands don’t flood as much as they’ve been addressing flooding through infrastructure projects since it got really bad in the 50s.
“We created lots of solutions, so it hardly ever happens, but here we see it happen. It’s a great opportunity because, for me, usually this is a bit of an academic discussion. So it’s very cool to see what it means if the water comes up.“
The annual event also draws repeat customers, particularly people with deep concerns for the impact sea level rise will have on their community. Hollywood residents Johanna Mead and her husband, Bill Ehrreich, said they appreciated the opportunity to have “hands on experience” helping collect data that will inform fixes.
For them, sea level rise is more than an abstract concept or a future problem. The couple said they made the difficult decision last year to sell their coastal home after years of experiencing coastal flooding.
“We sold it last year, and we moved to higher ground because of the sea level rising; that was the only reason,” Mead said.
Jim Murley, the 79-year-old retired former chief resilience officer for Miami-Dade County, was also among the volunteers rolling up their pants to wade into the floodwaters. He said the ten years of data the program has collected is invaluable to help planners make decisions, and he hopes for another 10 years of good data.
“When we talk about sea level rise, I think it’s difficult for people to grasp. So we have to put it together with these events, things they actually see, that they can discuss over the dinner table,” he said. “That’s how you get educated on the long term issue.”
Reporters Alexandra Phelps, Giancarlo Diago and Madison Docherty are students at the Florida International University Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media. They contributed to this story as part of a partnership between the FIU and the Miami Herald.
Denise Hruby’s climate reporting is funded by Florida International University, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the David and Christina Martin Family Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all content.
Ashley Miznazi’s climate reporting is funded by MSC Cruises USA and the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all content.
Miami Herald Editor Curtis Morgan also contributed to this article.
This story was originally published by theMiami Heraldand shared in partnership with the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a multinewsroom initiative founded by the Miami Herald, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, The Palm Beach Post, the Orlando Sentinel, WLRN Public Media and the Tampa Bay Times.
