TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Tampa city leaders were in South Tampa Monday, discussing flooding and drainage concerns.

This is just the latest community meeting designed to reassure residents the city is doing all it can to address aging infrastructure and frequently flooded streets.

Mayor Jane Castor continued her message of managing expectations.

She said, “City leaders are doing the best they can, but a stormwater system can only handle so much.” “There is a limit to what they can handle,” she said. “If it rains long enough, hard enough, they’re going to be overwhelmed.”

That was the main message from Castor at Monday night’s flood meeting in South Tampa.

As a thunderstorm drenched the region, city leaders discussed the lessons learned last hurricane season, what’s being done about it and how the city is moving forward.

“It took these two storms to show us that we were not prepared even a little,” South Tampa resident Anneliese Meier said. “I think we still would’ve flooded, I don’t think we would’ve flooded in some places, so we’re playing catch up here.”

The mayor said it takes a village and the city needs the community’s participation to best serve residents.

But what exactly does that look like?

“Not blowing things down the storm drains, if you see something that is obstructing the storm drain and you can get it out, get it out,” Castor said. “If you see an issue, call the city and report it so we can come out and address it.”

This comes as the city moves forward with the South Howard flood mitigation project, something some business owners have been pushing back on.

Steve Michelini, who represents a number of businesses in the South Howard area, said, “I think a lot of these projects, especially the one on South Howard, need to be reevaluated once they get the drainage systems cleaned out and evaluated.”

But Castor said, it’s short-term pain for long-term gain.

“Putting our head in the sand and ignoring the flooding issues along South Howard is not going to be of value to anyone,” she said. “Stormwater systems, putting them in is disruptive to neighborhoods, but the long term value comes to the residents who have been flooded and the businesses that have been flooded as well.”