OAK HILL, Fla. – Relief is on the way for a flood-prone part of Oak Hill.
State Sen. Tom Wright is set to present nearly $187,000 to city leaders on Monday to help address longstanding flooding issues along Canal Avenue.
For years, heavy rain has left homes, businesses and rental properties near U.S. Highway 1 underwater, including the Country Store, owned by Christine and Doug Lathrom, who own several nearby properties that have repeatedly flooded.
“The flooding has always been a constant issue,” Christine Lathrom said. “We owned some of the rental units here right on Canal that had flooded extensively due to the fact that there is no proper drainage that has been put in the Canal Road. We reached out to St. Anne’s Water Management, we reached out to the senator, we reached out to the director of DOT.”
City officials say the problem stems from a low point behind homes and businesses with no outlet to surrounding drainage systems. The state funding will go toward construction of a gravity drainage system and retention pond designed to prevent structural flooding and reduce safety hazards.
Doug Lathrom said he was surprised and thankful when the state stepped in.
“They were actually the ones that instigated it because they seen us out here and they seen us pumping in the middle of storms,” Lathrom said. “And they’re the ones that came to us. We didn’t go to them. They came to us. And we did appreciate that. And actually, I couldn’t even believe it. I’ll believe it when I see it done.”
Mayor Ricky Taylor said he looks forward to joining Wright for the check presentation and called the project a much-needed first step toward flood relief for residents and business owners in Oak Hill.