In January 2023, ECT began working with the City of St. Augustine Beach (the City) on a solution to chronic flooding occurring within the city’s watershed. Our team is designing stormwater attenuation alternatives for the city’s Magnolia Dunes and Atlantic Oaks Circle neighborhoods that not only mitigate existing flood risks, but also incorporate projections for future sea level rise.

These two neighborhoods were built upon 69 acres of low-lying, coastal flood-prone watershed. There are 234 homes within that footprint, including those built along residential City streets and within the Serenity Bay and Villa Del Rey subdivisions. The region is bounded to the east by State Road A1A and to the west by densely developed land built up at a higher elevation. Both Magnolia Dunes and Serenity Bay operate under environmental resource permits, but they lack a positive outfall.

The residential development and the subsequent stormwater run-off discharge both contribute to the watershed surface water flooding and exacerbate the limited capacity to convey post development stormwater run-off to a surface water facility. The culmination of these deficiencies is backwater ponding in the project watershed.

This project is funded through Resilient Florida state grant. ECT was instrumental in grant administration and procurement of subsequent grant funding for design and construction.

The project includes a pre-design study phase followed by design and permitting, bidding, and construction administration.