Businesses plagued by flooding literally on wrong side of road
No permanent drainage on county side of Indian Road has business owners bothered
Chris Emma
Flooding has been a major problem for businesses on the wrong side of Indian Road.
After days of rain, some South Florida businesses have been crippled by feet of standing water.American Rally Inc. is on Indian Road in West Palm Beach. Owner Richard Larsen said that whenever it rains, the standing water hurts."There is no business now," Larsen said. "Nobody wants to bring their cars in here. We work on a lot of high-end cars, and they don't want to come through the water."Silvio Delgado, who owns Affordable Auto Repair on the same street, said he had to put up a wood barrier to block the water."I've been here for a year-and-a-half, and the first year I got flooded," he said. "My office got flooded twice. Unless you have a high truck, they can't come in. So my business is totally dead."All of the businesses on Indian Road are on the border of the city of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County. Larsen and Delgado are on the county side and have been told there is no place for the water to go.There is currently no permanent drainage system on the county side, and the one on the city side doesn't work for them and the city can't help. County officials said there are plans to build a new drainage system to move the water east. However, there is no money available to build it and no timetable on when the funds will be available."We pay an awful lot in taxes, but the money is not going where it needs to go," Larsen said.View, Share Weather Photos On WPBF.com's u local:9146310
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —
After days of rain, some South Florida businesses have been crippled by feet of standing water.
American Rally Inc. is on Indian Road in West Palm Beach. Owner Richard Larsen said that whenever it rains, the standing water hurts.
"There is no business now," Larsen said. "Nobody wants to bring their cars in here. We work on a lot of high-end cars, and they don't want to come through the water."
Silvio Delgado, who owns Affordable Auto Repair on the same street, said he had to put up a wood barrier to block the water.
"I've been here for a year-and-a-half, and the first year I got flooded," he said. "My office got flooded twice. Unless you have a high truck, they can't come in. So my business is totally dead."
All of the businesses on Indian Road are on the border of the city of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County. Larsen and Delgado are on the county side and have been told there is no place for the water to go.
There is currently no permanent drainage system on the county side, and the one on the city side doesn't work for them and the city can't help. County officials said there are plans to build a new drainage system to move the water east. However, there is no money available to build it and no timetable on when the funds will be available.
"We pay an awful lot in taxes, but the money is not going where it needs to go," Larsen said.
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