Parched ground in Broward County has minimized flooding woes so far
FORT LAUDERDALE -- Broward County has seen several inches of rain over the past several hours but flooding has been minimal in many areas.
"In the last three days we've had rainfall, in the maximum amount of 5-6 inches in that central to east part," said Carlos Adorisio, assistant director of the Broward County Environmental Permitting division.
The agency's maps show the areas of heavy rainfall so far being concentrated in the central part of the county but there has been little flooding in the county.
Adorisio said that's because the ground is dry.
"Generally, the ground water elevation at the end of the dry season are low, so when it rains the water tends to go into the ground more easily because the ground has the capacity to absorb more water," he said.
Using an aquarium, with rocks representing the ground, Adorisio explains how that dry ground is able to absorb much of the rain.
"I'm going to pour some water just to who how the water starts going at the bottom of the container," he said while pouring water from a pitcher. "This is a representation of rain. You can see the rain in this case has saturated the ground."
The water line is just above the gravel.
"When we get to that point, we're going to see flooding because the ground can not take any more water," Adorisio said.
Ground water has risen as much as a foot in some areas in the past three days but there's still room to accept more.
Once we hit rainy season, with frequent downpours, chances are that flooding will return.
"In summer, then the same amount of rain will get up faster to the top of that ground," Adorisio said. "And what will happen, the ground doesn't take any more water. We're going to start seeing water on top and that's what you will see with flooding."
Another helpful element to ward off flooding are retention ponds and swales, which collect and hold run off water, until the ground can absorb it.