Posted on December 17, 2025
PETERSBURG, Fla. — The City of St. Petersburg says a stormwater study is a direct result of summer walking tours held weeks ago.
Its public works department wanted to hear directly from residents about the flooding problems in their neighborhood.
The city now says it will conduct a study to dredge the shallow canals in Riviera Bay. It’s taking a phased approach to the flooding solutions in what public works calls a massive undertaking.
Riviera Bay residents say all their canals are full of sand and sediment.
A homeowner who lives where two of the canals meet is dealing with the issue.
Kathy Crow says Hurricane Helene’s storm surge pushed a lot of sand and sediment into the canal behind her home last year.
New land has formed where there should be a few feet of water. It is rendering her boat useless.
“We are no longer on navigable waterfront,” Crow said. “We are barely on a drainage canal because I don’t even think it could drain water properly during a storm event.”
The Riviera Bay canals are part of St. Pete’s stormwater conveyance system.
Runoff from the Saltgrass Lake area drains into the canals.
Public works says the Riviera Bay canal problem is now on its radar thanks to the Resilient St. Pete Action Plan. (Spectrum News/Josh Rojas)
Crow says that because those canals are so full of sediment, homes are now being threatened during regular summer storms.
“If all that water is going to be diverted down this canal system, there is nowhere for the water to go,” Crow said. “So now that there’s no depth, it’s going to come up, and it’s going to flood our properties.”
Public works says the Riviera Bay canal problem is now on its radar thanks to the Resilient St. Pete Action Plan.
The public works administrator says that the dredge study is a direct result of walking tours earlier this year. (Spectrum News/Josh Rojas)
Spectrum News reported earlier this year how public works, along with consultant engineers, conducted walking tours in nine different neighborhoods.
The city wanted to hear directly from residents about the flooding problems in their neighborhoods.
Riviera Bay Civic Association President Vanessa Pugliese says the city will now conduct a study to dredge the canals.
“This is going to give us the absolute data we need about the sedimentation and silt issues in these canals so that we can make sure that they’re actually dredged to appropriate depths to handle the increased stormwater runoff loads from the city.”
The public works administrator says that the dredge study is a direct result of the walking tours.
Crow participated in that walking tour and showed city leaders the problem in her backyard.
“It is nice to see something moving forward,” she said. “I appreciate that they are listening to us, and they took us seriously.”
The city says it chose those nine neighborhoods for walking tours based on their unique relationship with the water and wants to avoid a one-size fits all solution.
