Cartoon of turkey on stage

Tom Has A Message For You

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A fried turkey is a Thanksgiving treat, but the mess from all that oil is less enticing. After a wonderful meal and it’s time to clean up, do you know what to do with that left-over cooking oil?

You can store used cooking oil to reuse later. If you plan to reuse your cooking oil, you should choose a high-quality oil with a high smoking point and strain it through cheesecloth between each use. Store the used cooking oil in a cool, dry place in a sealed container.

If you choose to dispose of it, do not pour it down your drain. That can cause costly damage to your home plumbing, sewage collection system and septic system. Additionally, do not dispose of used cooking oil in your garden, down a storm drain or into a canal. Once the oil enters the water system it becomes a pollutant and may cause serious harm to water quality and marine life.

To dispose of cooking oil properly, carefully pour the cooled used cooking oil into a large, sturdy plastic container no larger than 5 gallons in size. Don’t mix the used cooking oil with any other liquids or products. Cap it tightly and drop it off at one of the Solid Waste Authority’s Home Chemical and Recycling Centers. For a complete list of drop-off locations call 561-697-2700 or visit the Solid Waste Authority’s website at https://www.swa.org/173/Used-Cooking-Oil.

Girl holding a sign that reads "thank you"

Year-Round Readiness

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South Florida’s weather and residential communities do not always mix well. It does not have to be a tropical storm or hurricane to cause a flooding issue. At any time of the year, a localized downpour from a severe thunderstorm has the potential to cause flooding. Anyone who has experienced these intense rainfall events understands that it only takes a small blockage in a storm drain or malfunctioning control structure to jeopardize the safety and wellbeing of the neighborhood.

The following is a good example of how rapidly the lack of maintenance can result in flooding. A few years ago, the southern portion of LWDD’s boundary experienced a severe and unexpected downpour. Around 1:00 in the morning, LWDD received a call from the President of a homeowner’s association. In a panicked voice he informed staff that flooding was eminent in his community. An LWDD employee was deployed. When he arrived on-site, he noticed there was no positive outflow from the stormwater pond to the drainage canal and it appeared there was an obstruction in the pond’s discharge control structure. Upon further investigation and after clearing 20-30 coconuts from the structure, he was able to provide enough flow of water to prevent a flooding incident. This is a true story but not a unique story.

Many residential communities have faced similar emergencies. It might not be coconuts from surrounding trees; but yard waste, debris, broken or unmaintained control structures and failed pipes can cause a similar crisis. Keeping the community’s drainage system and infrastructure in good working order year-round is a vital and necessary job for the community. You will want to ensure the discharge control structures, swales, storm drains, and outfall pipes have an unobstructed flow and are in good working order. In addition, proper landscape maintenance and removal of any encroachments on canal rights-of-way are imperative to avoid trees toppling over into canals as well as providing a clear path for large equipment should emergency access be required by LWDD crews.

The end of the 2023 storm season is near, but the end of storm readiness never ends.

Seven Fast Facts About Flood Control

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image of 7 Fast Facts
man in a hammock

Complacency Can Be Deadly

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The aftermath of a big storm in Florida seems like it should be hard to forget; blue roofs, piles of yard debris waiting to be picked up, lack of light, air conditioning or clean water. But those memories fade as things calm down and we get back to normal. For many Floridians, this calm after the storm can last for several years.

The last major hurricane to hit our area was Wilma in October 2005. Over time, people tend to forget unpleasant experiences. Some residents are new to the area and may never have experienced a severe storm or hurricane before. For these reasons many residents can be lulled into complacency and may procrastinate from their emergency planning.

But you never know when the calm before the storm will end. South Florida is known for not only tropical storms and hurricanes but also torrential downpours from unexpected thunderstorms that can happen any time of the year. For example, in January 2014, over 15 inches of rain fell in a localized area in just a couple of hours causing major flooding, damage to property and tragically the loss of life.

It is vital that residents should make reasonable preparations for self-sufficiency all year long. That includes re-checking and refilling essential supplies, such as an emergency food stockpile, storage containers for water, flashlights and other emergency items. Residents also should have an evacuation plan in place, with contingencies for pets and mobility-challenged family members. And, they should make sure that insurance policies are up to date and that relevant documents are complete and easy to find.

With luck, our area will make it to the end of the 2023 hurricane season unscathed. However, it is only a matter of time when luck will run out and the value of year-round preparation will become staggeringly obvious. A good resource for information about planning for various types of emergencies can be found at www.ready.gov.

HOA discharge control structure

How Drainage Works

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Man-made lakes and ponds are attractive enhancements to many residential communities and businesses within the Lake Worth Drainage District (LWDD). More importantly, they serve an important public safety purpose by providing stormwater storage for flood control.

When lake elevations rise due to rainfall, excess stormwater will flow through the community’s discharge control structure and into the LWDD canal. Most of this drainage occurs unnoticed by the average individual. However, during a severe storm, flooding in streets, sidewalks and driveways may occur. This nuisance flooding may cause concern for some residents. However, these low-lying areas are designed as secondary detention areas to protect homes from flooding.

Within LWDD, flood control is a shared responsibility and achieved through an interconnected, three-tiered drainage system. By working together, these three systems provide effective flood control.

This three-tiered system is made up of:

  1. Tertiary, or neighborhood drainage systems operated by property owners or residential associations.
  2. Secondary drainage systems which are operated by LWDD (lwdd.net).
  3. Primary system operated by the South Florida Water Management District (sfwmd.gov).

Water managers in charge of primary and secondary systems are continually monitoring the weather and canal levels to proactively respond to changes in canal elevations. In anticipation of a heavy rainfall event, water managers will make operational adjustments to maintain appropriate water elevations for flood control. Additionally, throughout the year, routine canal maintenance is conducted to provide unobstructed flow in the canal channel and access along the canal rights-of-way.

Property owners and residential associations have a similar role. They must maintain their drainage infrastructure to ensure that inlets, pipes and discharge control structures are free of potential blockages and working as designed, thus maintaining the flow of stormwater away from their property. An annual inspection of drainage infrastructure should be made, and repairs should be completed before the start of storm season on May 1.

The likelihood of flooding depends on several variables such as rainfall volume, duration, ground moisture and local terrain. It is important to note that flood protection does not mean flood proof. No system, no matter how well designed, is 100% flood proof. Even with quality flood control, homes and businesses may experience flooding if rainfall exceeds the drainage design or stormwater flow is blocked by debris. For more information on flood control visit our website at https://www.lwdd.net/property-managers-hoa.