Building a Better Florida Future While Addressing Recurring Flooding in Putnam County
At over 300 miles, the St. John’s River is the longest in Florida, providing a vital water-based highway for commerce, recreation, and, when the weather turns difficult, floodwaters in Florida. However, St. John’s and surrounding areas need a helping hand due to persistent and stronger storms. This past fall, Hurricane Milton tested the river’s capacity to handle excessive amounts of rainfall, and it’s likely to get worse, producing more rainfall and excess water runoff that has nowhere to go. Depending on the severity of the weather event, it can take weeks or even months for water levels to return to normal.
Thankfully, Allen & Company is working to mitigate this ongoing issue. We are contributing our knowledge and expertise to the Northern Putnam Drainage Project, an infrastructure improvement that aims to address recurring flooding by enhancing stormwater management. As part of this work, we are working to mitigate current and future flooding while simultaneously improving roadway safety for residents and commuters. This must be a long-term, community-oriented solution that benefits people while also supporting sustainable growth in Florida, the fastest-growing state for new populations. And the more people who choose to live here, the more we must continue making needed improvements.
Our scope of work for the project includes drainage and roadway improvements along Palmetto Bluff Road and Millican Road. To accomplish this, our teams are applying some of the most important technologies to ensure that the improvements will stand the test of time. In support of this effort, we crafted a topographic map of the job site to glean critical elevation data to enable adequate water flow and the most efficient drainage. We also conducted site boundary surveys to reduce disputes over property borders while complying with land-use regulations. And to avoid bumping into crucial underground utilities as well as other potential obstacles, our team engaged in subsurface mapping—a specialty at our firm—to prevent damage and avoid expensive and time-consuming construction delays later.
The pinpoint accuracy of our mapping and surveying techniques empowers Putnam County to meet the unique demands of this project. Combining enhanced infrastructure with reduced flooding risks helps make the quality of life for Floridians better—and safer.
We are excited and honored to be a part of crucial infrastructure improvements where our team will utilize our skills in hydrographic mapping, surveying, exploration, and subsurface utility exploration to prepare the St. John’s River for greater flood potential. Thanks to our precision-based mapping at the Northern Putnam Drainage Project, the county will be able to avoid flooding years or even decades in the future.
