Seawall Failures

The City of Punta Gorda canal system suffered substantial seawall failures as a result of Hurricane Irma. Staff is in the process of inspecting and prioritizing repairs within the entire canal system. However, residents may still report seawall failures by emailing pubworks@pgorda.us or calling Public Works at 941-575-5050. Because we are experiencing high call volumes at this time, please leave a message clearly stating the property address.

Due to the magnitude of damage, the City does not have the necessary manpower or materials to address all of these failures and is actively working on securing a contractor to handle the additional workload. Certain actions must be taken, and federal guidelines followed, to ensure that the City is eligible for FEMA reimbursement.

Once the seawalls has been inventoried and prioritized, the City will post a list and tentative work schedule on our website, www.pgorda.us, as well as distribute this information through all of our other communication outlets. Status updates on repairs will also be posted as work progresses. Please be advised that these emergency seawall repairs will take many months to complete. Your patience is appreciated.

The City will be cutting away panels and ribboning off those areas deemed a risk to public safety. Residents should be vigilant in safeguarding their own properties until repairs can be made. Do not place any materials (concrete filled bags, cinder blocks, sand, tree limbs or any other debris) into depressions. Emergency seawalls repairs will not include restoration of docks, electric, irrigation, landscaping, fences, walkways, davits, concrete pads, etc. or repair of damaged pool structures and cages. The property owner is responsible for everything landward and waterward of the seawall, and a permit may be required for such work. Please contact the Building Division at 941-575-3324 for more information.

The primary cause of these failures can be attributed to water being sucked out of the canal system, while the heavy rains collected behind the seawall unequalizing pressure between the land and water.