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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 flooded again, making it hard for Perrer to even get to his front door. “I had to park down the block and it’s hard for me to get home right now because of where the water is leveled up,” he said.
Once he’s inside his home, his floors resemble the flooded streets. “Trucks fly down the street, create a wake zone, smashes into the door, smashes into my neighbors cars. It’s a constant problem.”
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.
According to the LaSalle street drainage project developers, the San Marco pump station is completed. However, residents say until more is done, Riviera Street will keep turning into a river after every rain storm.
“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.
