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Water-logged residents haven’t seen relief despite plan to drain Lake Seward: ‘Get this water out of here’

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Published  October 28, 2024 7:59am EDT
Polk County
FOX 13 News

Lake Seward residents waiting for relief

Residents near Lake Seward are still underwater more than two weeks after Hurricane Milton. FOX 13's Carla Bayron reports.

BARTOW, Fla. - Roads and homes along the Lake Seward basin in Polk County are still underwater two weeks after Hurricane Milton caused devastating damage.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District and the county has a plan to remove all the standing water, but homeowners say that relief hasn't come yet.

"My house went under. I mean, we lost everything," explained Tracy Boyett, a resident of the Oakmont neighborhood. 

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Boyett's precious home on Oakmont Lane is now mold-infested and swamped with irreplaceable items lost forever.

"I go in there and have a nervous breakdown. All I do is go in there and cry," Boyett shared. "Honestly, I wish somebody would set the place on fire because out of sight out of mind. I have to see that every day now." 

Her Oakmont neighborhood was drowned by Lake Seward right after Hurricane Milton. 

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"We have a service-disabled vet living here," said Eric Hedrick, another resident. "We have some people getting up in age and you never know when there could be an emergency and there's no way to get emergency vehicles down here." 

Hedrick says they've had a drainage problem for quite some time but then Hurricane Milton exacerbated it. He said the county was going to come and fix it. 

"They had a study done that gave them several options on how to fix the problem; one of them being to do nothing and I feel that's the route they're going," said Hedrick. 

On Friday, Oct. 25, SWFWMD and Polk County installed the piping to drain the water from the lake to Banana Lake, and then ultimately to Lake Hancock, but Hedrick says it doesn't look like the pump is hooked up yet.

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He'd like to see a permanent line that goes down to the outlet basin into Banana Lake.

"We've fought this county about this. That this was going to happen, and it was going to flood," said Boyett. 

Boyett's still waiting for help from FEMA, the Red Cross, and local politicians, and feels all she has been fed are empty promises.

"Get this water out of here," said Boyett. 

There is a Polk County Commission meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 5 that these homeowners say they will attend to voice their concerns.

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