Land Clearing and Development Along C.P.H. Can Lead to Severe Flooding

But the rains are not over yet. In fact, we are only at the start of the rainy season. And, with an increase in deforestation and land developments along the Coastal Plain Highway, incidents of flooding could quite likely become even more severe. According to Evondale Moody, an assessment of the highway has revealed that large plots of land where forests once stood have been cleared as opportunities for business increase with the area. And with these clearings, the road infrastructure can become even more stressed. Here is how he puts it.

 

Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH

“In terms of the defects liability period, based on what I have seen today it is not a result of workmanship. There was no fault of the contractor in what happened over the weekend. That was not his fault, that was the fault of nature. WE did not know the creek would be flooded. We did all we could in the design to improve the drainage condition within that section of the highway. However other entities created that problem for us by deforestation up stream. We don’t know that is happening there. It is something we have to look into, but a lot of areas have been burnt out, and based on my observation this morning we have a lot of areas where a lot of forest is cleared now where people are developing their new businesses, their new parks opening, and I saw one just by the Manatee bridge. The Manatee bridge used to be the key point along the Coastal Highway where flooding would occur. That bridge performed well today. There were flood waters there, but you could see surrounding the four banks along that river that there is developments happening there. I think there is an Eco Park that will happen there, and all that forest and land mass have been cleared. We now have to look at the capacity of those drains there and the capacity of the Manatee channel itself to cope with the flood water that will be coming down because that water will not be infiltrated into the earth. It has to be displaced somewhere so that has to be to the Manatee Creek. So it is all about development that is happening along the coastal highway and all over the country.”