St. Johns River Water Management District preparing for hurricanes by lowering water levels, tracking rainfall

St. Johns River Water Management District preparing for hurricanes

The St. Johns River Water Management District is in hurricane mode, making sure water levels are lowered before big storms.

ORLANDO, Fla. - As flooding devastates parts of Texas, Brevard County officials are ramping up efforts to reduce the risk of similar disasters here in Central Florida. 

What we know:

Behind the scenes, engineers and emergency managers are working around the clock to monitor water levels and manage flow across a vast flood control network. Much of the focus is on a massive levee system that runs along the Indian River and borders the Saint Johns River basin — key infrastructure during hurricane season. 

Since we’re in hurricane season, levels in the St. Johns River, managed by the St. Johns River Water Management District, are about two feet lower than they are in the winter.

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Officials lower the water levels with levees to make sure the river can absorb heavy rainfall and hurricanes without flooding the region. In hurricane season, staff are on high-alert, always monitoring current levels and watching the forecast to see what weather systems could threaten the area. 

Engineers rely on data sensors all over the waterways to track levels in real time. Floodgates are opened and closed to move water and regulate the levels as storms move in.

What they're saying:

Engineers say the goal every summer is to prepare as much as possible for possible flooding to keep people safe.

"Part of our precautions going into hurricane season is to drop these water levels to have the capacity upstream to take these additional rains that we see during hurricane season," said Woody Boynton, the Bureau Chief of Operations and Maintenance for the St. John’s River Water Management District.

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The team relies on man-made and natural landscape to mitigate floods.

"It acts as a sponge. It lets the storm water absorb into these wetlands, and then it mitigates some of the flooding downstream," said Amy Wright, the Supervising Professional Engineer for St. John’s River Water Management District.