Name: Lakeland homeowners address flooding concerns
Uploaded: 2024-10-21T08:51:34-04:00
Channel: Matthew McClellan
Description: Some Lakeland communities are still dealing with high floodwater 12 days after Hurricane Milton roared through the Bay Area. Residents who live near Lake Bonny took their frustrations to city leaders.

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Lakeland homeowners address flooding concerns

Some Lakeland communities are still dealing with high floodwater 12 days after Hurricane Milton roared through the Bay Area. Residents who live near Lake Bonny took their frustrations to city leaders.

LAKELAND, Fla. - Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Milton, dozens of people living near Lake Bonny in Lakeland are planning to attend a city commission meeting to discuss solutions to the lingering stormwater that has taken up residence at their doorsteps.

During public comment Monday morning, a homeowner who lives on Lake Bonny Drive E. was moved to tears by sharing her personal experience with flooding after Hurricane Milton.

"I did not eat. I did not sleep," she said. "I just watched the water rise and I didn't know if I was going to have to evacuate my family for six days. Eleven days later, I left my house to come here and the water is still there."

Laymon Hackney, a resident at Lakeland Livin' mobile home community, told FOX 13 News he is just looking for fixes.

"The county blames the city. The city blames the county," said Hackney. "I don't care. I just want it done. Fix it."

Kevin Cook, a city spokesperson, has told FOX 13 previously they've been pumping water out from Lake Bonny to Lake Parker since August 5th at 5,000 gallons per minute. The problem is that all the water bodies in the area are still at flood stage, but it's a claim some homeowners refute.

"You have not pumped water since August 5th. Show me the proof," said Smith.

That frustration is echoed by Hackney's neighbors, many of whom are elderly and on fixed income. Residents could be seen wading through knee-deep floodwater on Monday morning to get to their cars, which were parked away from the water. The day before, community members organized a meeting of their own to discuss solutions ahead of the city commission meeting.

PREVIOUS: Residents along Lake Bonny still dealing with flooding, demanding answers

In an October 18 public notice, the city told residents the following:

"The Lakeland area specifically experienced over 12 inches of rain in 24 hours taxing the city’s stormwater system. All area lakes are flooded, and it is very difficult to alleviate flood conditions and lower lake levels. Most of the drainage lakes, tributaries and rivers have high levels and that is not helping flood situations because of the higher-than-normal rainfall over the summer.
There are three major watershed basins in the city of Lakeland, and outflows from area lakes flow into either the Hillsborough River or the Peace River. Water flows from higher elevation to lower elevation. The downstream rivers (Peace and Hillsborough) flow through relatively flat terrain with little elevation changes, which leads to significant regional flooding after major storm events. The Peace and Hillsborough Rivers have been in flood stage since the passing of Tropical Storm Debby, and Hurricanes Helene and Milton have fully exacerbated the flooding situation. This makes it very difficult to drain flooded upstream waters.
The largest surface water drainage system is Lake Parker. Lakes at higher elevation that flow into Lake Parker include Lake Gibson (via Lake Crago) and Lake Mirror. Lake Bonny is at a relatively equal elevation to Lake Parker. The city has been pushing water from Lake Bonny to Lake Parker with a very high-volume pump at 5,000 gallons per minute since August 5, 2024. The water from Lake Parker eventually flows to the Peace River via Lake Hancock but both those water bodies are also at flood level. Flooding occurred throughout the city and Polk County and the drainage continues to impact the Lake Parker/Bonny watersheds with water slowly draining into the lakes. Even though a high-volume pump is removing water from Lake Bonny, the urbanized drainage basin continues to input water to the lake. Water naturally is seeping from higher elevation into the drainage basin. Lake Bonny in its natural state is approximately 400 million gallons."

Chad Smith, who also lives on Lake Bonny Drive E., says there's still six inches of water in his home.

"I'm here because we could've prevented this and my house is flooded. My entire life and home is gone," said Smith. "It was completely contaminated with sewage from everyone down in the street because of the lift station didn't work and they didn't maintain them."

"The water didn't go down," homeowner Michael McAlister said. "It has gone up since (Hurricane Milton). I think it's more of a steady state right now. I hear things about pumps not running and whatnot. I concentrated on getting my things out of my house and into storage facilities."

PREVIOUS: 'We're at our wit's end': Lakeland community flooded out by Hurricane Milton

Residents are just begging for relief and fast.

"We have nowhere to live, and you guys are our only lifeline," said another homeowner.

City officials say they're going to continue their efforts to have conversations with those other agencies so they can bring some kind of resolution.

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