Cars plow through floodwaters in San Marco. | News4Jax
Published on July 10, 2025 at 11:03 am
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With more showers and storms on the way, San Marco residents and businesses are worried about more flooding.
Neighbors had to wade through water Wednesday afternoon just to get to their cars as rain once again turned streets into rivers in the flood-prone area.
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Residents say they are beyond frustrated, especially with a multimillion-dollar project already underway to try to fix the problem.
“The first year I lived here, this street didn’t flood. But after they turned the pumps off ahead of a storm, it’s been flooding every time it rains hard,” Lydia Diggs said.
On Wednesday, the street flooded, cars stalled and the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department had to help drivers stuck in the rising water.
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The city of Jacksonville says it is working to fix the issue.
Phase One of the LaSalle Street drainage project wrapped up earlier this year. It included a new pump station, outfall and upgraded piping.
Now, the city is in Phase Two of the project, but flooding issues continue.
The city told News4Jax the pump station is working, but the issue now is upgrading the pipes that carry water from the neighborhood to that pump. The city provided this statement:
“Construction of the LaSalle Pump Station was completed, and it continues to be operational. The challenge remains increasing the pipe size from the low points in the neighborhood to the pump station, which the contractor is working on as Phase 2 of the project. They are evaluating the current conditions to determine what temporary measures might be helpful to alleviate local issues while construction of the longer-term fix continues, including the possibility of deploying mobile pumps either by the contractor or the City.”
Once the project is complete, it should:
- Alleviate flooding on LaSalle Street and in the neighborhood.
- Alleviate flooding at the intersection of LaSalle Street and San Marco Boulevard.
- Improve the overall capability of the stormwater system in San Marco.
A timeline of the project’s progress is available on the city’s website. In the meantime, residents are left to handle the rising waters.
“I’ve been coming through here for 20 years. They always say it’s going to get better — but clearly, it hasn’t,” said Aaron Backherms. “That wasn’t even a heavy rain, and we’re flooded again.”
This story was produced by News4Jax, a Jacksonville Today news partner.
