LWDD Partners with Broken Sound for Enhanced Flood Control

Delray Beach, FL – Today, the Lake Worth Drainage District began work on a canal rehabilitation project adjacent to the L-42 Canal on Yamato Road, between Jog Road and Military Trail. In collaboration with the Broken Sound Master Association, the project includes removal of the aging ficus trees adjacent to the canal and the Broken Sound community, restoration of the canal bank, and replanting of an enhanced native vegetation buffer.

Recognizing the City of Boca Raton’s desire to preserve and enhance native vegetation, the Lake Worth Drainage District began coordinating with the Broken Sound Master Association and the City of Boca Raton in February 2019 to address the encroaching trees and vegetation on its L-42 Canal right-of-way adjacent to the community.

The existing ficus trees are not only a non-native species known for having poor wind tolerance, but most if not all are stressed, diseased or rotting, and require a significant amount of maintenance. Removal of the trees reduces future maintenance and decreases the risk of the trees falling into the canal channel and blocking stormwater drainage or falling into the neighborhood and damaging private property.

The project is scheduled to begin now in order to mitigate flood control risks and weather delays associated with Hurricane season and to afford the maximum time for new plantings to be installed and become established. The project is expected to be completed in Spring 2020.

The Broken Sound Master Association engaged landscape architect Don Murakami to design an ideal landscape plan along the canal bank that would retain the aesthetic appeal of the community.

District Executive Director Tommy Strowd stated “This project is a model of public and private entities working together to enhance services for our mutual customers. It improves flood control for Broken Sound and the surrounding communities while preserving and promoting beautiful, native vegetation within the City of Boca Raton.”

In order to complete the restoration process as quickly as possible, the project will be completed in three phases. First, in a coordinated effort the District will remove existing trees and vegetation from the canal right-of-way and Broken Sound Master Association will remove the remaining root systems that may be entangled with the neighborhood’s perimeter wall. Second, the District will backfill and rebuild the canal bank. Finally, Broken Sound will replace the landscape buffer with Florida native plants and trees outside the critical maintenance area for the canal.

The Lake Worth Drainage District’s canal rehabilitation program was initiated in 2015 to mitigate flood control risks due to hurricanes and tropical events. Vegetative and structural encroachments located on the District’s canal rights-of-way can create obstructions to water flow during heavy rainfall events and hinder the District’s ability to properly maintain the canals for flood control. To date, the District has cleared nearly 100 miles of non-native vegetation from its canal banks.

For more information on this project and the District’s canal rehabilitation program, visit www.lwdd.net/canal-maintenance/canal-rehabilitation.

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Founded in 1915, the Lake Worth Drainage District is an independent special district that manages water resources and provides flood control for approximately 800,000 residents and more than 10,000 acres of agricultural land in southeastern Palm Beach County.