Fort Lauderdale stormwater pumps tested by heavy rain as residents prepare for king tides in flood-prone neighborhoods

Residents in Fort Lauderdale's Edgewood and River Oaks neighborhoods, long vulnerable to severe flooding, closely watched city stormwater pumps operate during heavy rainfall in September.Pump station number 8 was put to work clearing stormwater from both neighborhoods and discharging it into the New River. The station features four pumps capable of moving up to 52,800 gallons of water per minute, designed to handle a 10-year, 1-day storm event roughly 8.5 inches of rain over a 24-hour period."Last month we pumped over 50 million gallons," said Roberto Bettencourt, a Fort Lauderdale city engineer. "This month, we've already pumped over 9 million gallons".When September's heavy rain fell near the River Oaks home of Lance Peterman, water began building up in the low point of the neighborhood."We've seen a little bit of results, but it seems like that they need to have somebody to call there and turn the pumps on," Peterman said. "But when they did get the pumps on, the water level did go