Ridge Manor is still feeling effects of Withlacoochee River flooding from Milton

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Published  November 13, 2024 11:34pm EST
FOX 13 News
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Flood mitigation in Ridge Manor

FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis reports on the flooding that Ridge Manor saw from the Withlacoochee River after Hurricane Milton.

RIDGE MANOR, Fla. - The Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) broke down to FOX 13 how catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Milton remained in Ridge Manor more than one month later. 

SWFWMD Chief Professional Engineer Dr. Mark Fulkerson said the Withlacoochee River, which runs through the community, hadn't crested over this much since the 1930s. 

"This surpassed the 1960 flooding that actually formed our Water Management District in 1961 because of how devastating that flooding was." 

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Fulkerson added that some areas south of State Road 50 and west of 301 saw as much as 12 feet of flooding. 

"This was definitely one for the record books. We don't see water get this high every year at all," Fulkerson said.

Flooding from the Withlacoochee River in Ridge Manor.

Fulkerson said the Green Swamp flows into the 2,000 sq mile Withlacoochee River. He explained.

"The Green Swamp is really just a vast area of undeveloped land between Dade City and Lakeland, and then over to the east, you get to the outskirts of the Orlando region," Fulkerson said. 

The swamp is bowl-shaped and sits on top of a hill. Hurricane Milton took place at the end of the rainy season, so the Green Swamp and the creeks, ditches, and tributaries that ran into the Withlacoochee were already higher than usual. 

"In this instance, Hurricane Milton, the timing of it was key because it dropped double digit rainfall. Up to 16 inches of rain," Fulkerson said.

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That's why, eight days after Milton, the river crested in the Ridge Manor area. It began to lower naturally about three weeks ago, but the standing water in neighborhoods west of 301, south of State Road 50, remains 5 feet high.

Fulkerson explained that by saying, "Those neighborhoods, they're built around three lakes. Geneva, Elizabeth, and Francis. These are low-lying flood-prone lakes that connect to the Withlacoochee when the Withlacoochee is at flood stage." 

The river spilled over a ridge into the trio of lakes, and now it's stuck.

"So as the river receded, those lakes were still filling, trying to equalize with the river," Fulkerson said. "As the river goes down, the flooded neighborhoods can't flood out because there's the ridge I talked about."

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To alleviate this, SWFWMD teamed up with Hernando County and the Florida Division of Emergency Management to bring four pumps. 

For two weeks now, the operation has worked around the clock to pump water out of the lakes and into the river.

SWFWMD said the process would continue until roads are passable and homes are accessible again. So far, the water has lowered 3.5-4 feet.

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