JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Southside residents credited road engineering issues as the reason that they have been dealing with flooding issues for over 10 years — even when there are no signs of rain or storms.
Residents along Helm Drive, which is located behind Julington Creek, in the Del Rio neighborhood, have dealt with water constantly filling the street and receding for years.
“We want a waterfront, but not waterfront,” Bart Byrd said.
The flooding, which reaches calf-height on dry days, has transformed daily life for residents. One neighbor constructed a deck just to access their home, while others struggle with basic services.
“They won’t pick up our trash. We have to actually carry the cans through the water up to dry land if you want to get your trash,” said Carmen Woods, who moved to the neighborhood months ago. “The mail has stopped. She won’t come at all. Packages won’t be delivered.”
Byrd pointed to road construction as the source of their troubles.
“We never had this issue,” Byrd said. “When they came in and paved, the engineers did not do the excavation correctly and lowered the road down below river level. And then they come in and put in culverts that are below river level, and it’s bringing all the water from the river or any overflow into our street and driveways.”
News4JAX reached out to the city about this ongoing situation. The city said a field study from November 2024 revealed that “the roads and homes were built by the developer nearly 50 years ago at elevations below current high tide elevations.”
In March 2025, the City and neighborhood residents agreed to consider installing TideFlex valves to reduce river water backflow at the outfall. However, because of extensive low-lying areas, rising water can bypass these valves by moving through adjacent properties. Pumping water from low road points faces similar challenges, as water could re-enter through nearby low-lying properties.
Byrd also worried that the standing water posed significant health risks to residents.
“You have the runoff from all the septic systems that are mingling with this water, and it stands here stagnant, creating mosquito growth, other health hazards for our animals, and for young children,” Byrd explained.
The persistent flooding has affected property values and sales in the neighborhood. One resident, Christa, recently removed her house from the market due to the conditions.
“We can’t have anybody come in and see,” she said, with Byrd adding, “It’s hard to have an open house when you have to boat in.”
While residents acknowledged living in a flood zone, they emphasized this isn’t typical coastal flooding.
“We know we’re in a flood zone. We know we’re in an evacuation zone. Our house is on stilts, so there are things that we knew, purchasing a home on the water,” Woods said. “But this isn’t related to a storm. If this were from a hurricane, we wouldn’t be doing this story.”
The city suggested the installation of bulkhead walls along the riverfront as a temporary solution, but they also noted that the financial responsibility would fall on the homeowners for the work on their private property.
Read the city’s entire statement below:
The City has met with the residents and the District Councilmember several times to discuss the conditions on Helm Drive. At an initial meeting in October 2024, the City offered to investigate the issue and perform elevation surveys in the affected areas to better understand the conditions. The field survey was performed by the City in November 2024 and confirmed that unfortunately the roads and homes were built by the developer nearly 50 years ago at elevations below current high tide elevations. For example, portions of the road are between elevations 0.61 and 1.22, while normal high tide elevations between 1.80 and 2.00 are common, not including higher water elevations associated with storm events.
In March 2025, the City met with the residents in the neighborhood and agreed to evaluate installation of “TideFlex” valves which can reduce the backflow of water from the river at the outfall location; however, due to the extensive low-lying areas around this peninsula, rising water can and does readily migrate onto the road through adjacent properties, bypassing the outfall ditches and pipes that would be controlled by the TideFlex valves. Pumping water from the low points of the road would have similar limitations, as the water pumped back to the river could simply re-enter by way of the low-lying properties located between the river and the road.
A potential solution could be for the residents with property elevations lower than design flood elevation to install bulkhead walls along their river frontage at an appropriate elevation, such as 4.0 or 5.0. If the residents were to install the walls on their property, that would provide an opportunity for a pump system to be effective in clearing stormwater from the roadway, as re-entry of water through adjacent properties as described above would be prevented. (This would require investment by the owners for their work on private property.)
The City of Jacksonville