ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Flooding is a known issue in the city of St. Augustine and water can overwhelm the sewage system.
On Monday, the city sent out a notice alerting residents that there had been a sanitary sewer overflow of an estimated 9,000 gallons on Solano Avenue.
"Our system is designed for normal sanitary sewer sewage, so when we have a lot of rain what happens is it overwhelms the system," says Todd Grant, deputy director of the Public Works Department.
In Florida, it is now mandatory that the public be informed about pollution within 24 hours of an incident.
Last week, Gov. Rick Scott ordered the Department of Environmental Protection to implement that rule.
Now with Hurricane Matthew potentially heading towards Northeast Florida, the city's Public Works Department is making sure they are prepared.
"Right now, we're making sure that if we can pick up solid waste or yard debris we will just getting things buttoned up and waiting for the next report," said Grant.
Grant also said homeowners can help by clearing sewage drains of debris before the storm.
"We are going to do everything we possibly can. We have bypass pumps. I'm gonna make sure that standby generators are ready we only do so much as long as the weather permits," said Grant.
Grant also said he wants to remind people that if they see standing water in St. Augustine, they shouldn't drive through it and certainly shouldn't wade through it, because there's no way of telling what's in the water.
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