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Flooding fears in Polk County
Lakeland officials say water has been pumping out of Lake Bonny at the rate of 5,000 gallons per minute since August, but residents say water levels have barely budged. Kellie Cowan reports.
LAKELAND, Fla. - Help is coming to flooded residents living near Lake Bonny in Lakeland.
On Tuesday night, large flatbed trucks towing two industrial-sized water pumps, and 6,000 feet of piping arrived in Lakeland.
According to a press release from the city of Lakeland, the equipment has been provided by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers as part of a flood mitigation plan developed alongside county and Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) officials.
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In a post on X, state representative Jennifer Canady shared images of several pieces of heavy equipment and piping rolling into town.
Early Wednesday morning, crews delivered the equipment to the northwest shore of Lake Bonny.
"City and SWFWMD staff will work around the clock to install the system and get it operational. Staff will man the system 24/7 to ensure it is operating and not causing unintended flooding in the vicinity of the operations," the city of Lakeland explained in their release.
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Lakeland officials say water will be pumped from Lake Bonny to Lake Parker and will eventually outflow to the Peace River.
The city says it doesn't have a timetable for how long it will take to drain the water from Lake Bonny.
The strategy will include closing a portion of Main Street in order to run above-ground pipe from Lake Bonny to a stormwater outflow on North Gary Road, just north of the train trestle. Several nearby roads will be closed during the duration of the flood mitigation project including E. Main Street at Elgin Street, Elgin Street, N. Fern Road from Elgin Street to Alicia Road, N. Gary Road from Rose Street to E. Magnolia Street/E. Gary Road.
Drivers are encouraged to avoid the area and follow the advance notice detours. The recreational path from Lake Bonny Drive to the boat ramp will be closed as well.
No timetable has been set for the duration of the project. Officials say pumping will continue until Lake Bonny reaches an acceptable level and provides relief to those impacted.
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