Black Creek water receding after flooding concerns

Flooding along Black Creek. (Copyright 2020 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.)

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Black Creek was hit with flooding for the second weekend in a row.

Waters in North Fork Black Creek peaked at nearly 18 feet on Saturday before starting to drop Sunday morning.

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It’s the first high water event the North Prong has seen since Hurricane Irma, according to Clay County Emergency Management.

“It’s a little frustrating because it’s a lot of work to get ready for it we have to move all the furniture from the pool and around the house just in case it gets high enough to go underneath the house,” said Black Creek resident Jason Grote.

Grote said he moved in along Scenic Drive right after Hurricane Irma and it’s the first time he’s seen the river this high. Black Creek hit a record crest in 2017 because of Irma of more than 28 feet.

“We plan on taking a couple of hours before something like this happens and cleaning it all up,” Grote said.

Emergency Management Director John Ward says many residents are still living in travel trailers or temporary structures since Irma and that’s where the concern falls.

News4Jax meteorologists said Sunday the river peaked on Saturday at nearly 18 feet and is starting to drop. 18 feet marks the moderate threshold.

Typically the water is 5 feet below from where it was Sunday.

Grote said his boat has sunk a few times and his trailer is submerged in his boat ramp.

Many low lying areas of the North Prong saw flooding in driveways, yards, and in the road.

National Weather Service

The graph above shows the level falling below moderate flood stage Sunday afternoon and continuing on a downward trend through Tuesday.

“Since Hurricane Irma, this is the first flood event or high water event we’ve hard in the North Prong, so we want to make sure our residents are paying close attention to what’s going on,” said John Ward with Clay County Emergency Operations.

After last Sunday’s heavy rainfall, the North Prong of Black Creek entered its minor flood stage, cresting at about 17.4 feet by 10 a.m. Monday. News4Jax Meteorologist John Gaughan says the rise is associated with last weekends rain, plus Thursday and Friday’s rainfall.

Here is the full news conference from John Ward: