Residents of flood-prone communities uneasy at start of hurricane season

Denise Stallworth and her neighbors in the historic Black community of Midway in Seminole County are especially uneasy about this year’s hurricane season.

Days after Hurricane Ian plowed through Central Florida last September — dropping more than 16 inches of rain in her neighborhood — water surrounded and turned into islands nearly every home in Midway, including Stallworth’s.

“Water was all around my property and others,” Stallworth said this week. “I was born and raised in Midway. … But I had never seen it like that before.”

Midway residents have long struggled with flooded roads and inundated yards after strong storms because of an aging stormwater infrastructure system which, until recently, has been neglected for decades by Seminole County.

But the flooding has become worse in recent years, they say, because of the hundreds of new homes that have recently sprouted along East Lake Mary Boulevard, which causes more stormwater to flow into Midway.

But it’s not just Midway residents who are anxious and looking for relief. Ian also swamped other working-class neighborhoods across Central Florida.

Millions to mitigate flooding

In Orlo Vista, just west of downtown Orlando, Ian also dropped 16 inches of rain over a day, causing flood waters to flow into living rooms of nearly 150 homes. It was the second time in five years that residents were forced to flee because of high storm waters.

This spring, bulldozers and back-hoes arrived to start a $23.5 million project aimed at preventing future flooding. But the job isn’t expected to be finished until mid-2024, which means residents will have to make it through at least one more hurricane season.

“We want success,” said Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings during a public discussion of the project that calls for tripling the capacity of three retention ponds. “I don’t want to ever have to face you all again and say that we failed you.”

In the Orange County neighborhood of Bonnie Brook, also deluged by Ian, residents on Tuesday will learn about a proposal to buy and demolish “flood-prone” properties in their community. The county will keep the land as “open space in perpetuity so that no other family experiences flooding devastation again,” according to a county letter sent to residents.

While in Gulfstream Harbor, a retirement community of about 900 mobile homes near the Orlando International Airport, stormwater from a private pond flooded about a third of the homes during Ian.

“I’m already getting concerned citizens calling, saying they’re scared of summer,” said Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe, who organized relief efforts for residents with flooded homes and apartments.

In Midway, Seminole officials recently launched a $22-million stormwater improvement project that calls for removing the old ditches, farmers’ canals and swales and replacing them with a modern underground stormwater drainage system.

Construction is anticipated to start in mid-2024 and estimated to be completed by 2025, according to county officials.

“I am pleased to see that Midway is and continues to be a priority for Seminole County to start the process of equitable investment for a community that has long been underserved,” said Emory Green Jr., a longtime Midway resident and executive director of the nonprofit Midway Coalition.

But flooding in Midway “has grown exponentially worse in the past two years,” he said.

“There are four times more rooftops that are here now and less open areas of agriculture fields that normally would retain that stormwater and mitigate any potential flooding,” Green said. “And many of these developments do not have a care in the world in what happens outside their subdivisions.”

Residents point to old agricultural canals and ditches that have long been clogged with overgrown vegetation adjacent to the new subdivisions. The clogs cause stormwater to back up and then flow into the nearby streets.

Jeff Sloman, Seminole’s project manager, said many of the ditches in Midway will be replaced with new piping that will lead stormwater to new retention ponds.

“The predominant reason for flooding in the Midway community is deficient existing infrastructure,” he said. “The pipes are too small. The drainage canals are insufficient.”

In a written statement released by her office, Seminole Commissioner Andria Herr, whose district includes Midway, noted that from 1986 through 2017, Seminole dedicated $35 million in public works projects in Midway. But now Seminole is earmarking $22 million to improving the stormwater drainage in the community.

“While the [current] process may seem at a standstill, the county is actively addressing the needs of the community,” Herr said in the statement.

Still, Midway resident Janice McKinney prays every time a strong storm is forecast. Although her family built their home in 2006 at a higher elevation, her street and yard continue to flood.

“Thank God we did that,” she said about her home’s higher elevation. “The water hits the street and then it comes to my yard. And our driveway will still get flooded. To get out to the mailbox you have to wade in ankle-deep water.”

In Osceola County, the Buenaventura Lakes community is getting $1.1 million in drainage improvements this week. Ian left the unincorporated area near Kissimmee devastated by flooding.

Built in the 1970s on low-lying land, Buenaventura Lakes has long flooded. But water levels after Ian had never been seen before by residents, many of whom were stranded inside their homes.

“The upcoming culvert replacement demonstrates our commitment to the residents of the Buenaventura Lakes Community,” said Commission Chairwoman Viviana Janer in a press release about the project. “By improving stormwater functions and enabling better drainage, we’re taking proactive steps to address critical stormwater issues. These efforts, along with planned grants and projects, showcase our commitment to protect our community from flooding and to ensure a resilient future.”

Apart from replacing three 60-inch culverts — which will allow stormwater to discharge at a lower elevation and allow for quicker recovery during storm events — the county also is designating nearly $5 million to improve the drainage infrastructure within Buenaventura Lakes, according to the release.

The county also requested about $14 million in funding from the Florida Division of Emergency Management that would result in the removal of 142 homes from flooding if another 100-year storm were to occur, according to the release.

Hopkins Park in St. Cloud, a historically low-income and underserved area, received $1 million in May in upgrades to the drainage system after decades of flooding, which will bring relief to residents who have been complaining to the City Council for years.

“Since 2013, I have been requesting drainage for our community,” said Jacqueline Stevens Odom, a longtime Hopkins Park resident at a May meeting. “The reason I’m here is because I had to repair my home. I want to say I retired well but it costs me my good retirement to repair my home for a damage that I should not have had to repair for.”

Residents in Good Samaritan Society in Kissimmee experienced major flooding and mandatory evacuations during Ian. The retirement community is home to hundreds of seniors living in a mix of mobile homes, ground-level apartments and assisted-living facilities.

The flooding from Ian and previous hurricane Irma resulted in a lawsuit by two Good Samaritan residents alleging cover-ups by the retirement community owners. Hundreds were left homeless after 523 homes were not restored due to the extent of flood damage. In January, the owners announced they were selling the property.

mcomas@orlandosentinel.com; shudak@orlandosentinel.com; najaramillo@orlandosentinel.com