'Worst I've seen in 25 years': Imperial Lakes flooding problems boil over in recent rains

MULBERRY ― Stephanie Kackritz was driving home Thursday afternoon when she tried to turn onto Imperial Lakes Boulevard, the singular road leading into and out of a massive 1,700-acre golf course housing community in Mulberry.

When Kackritz couldn't get through because of traffic, she immediately knew the roadway as flooded, again.

"It was the worst I've seen in the 25 years that I've lived here," she said. "This is the second time they've had to completely close the road in the last five years."

Hundreds of Imperial Lakes residents found themselves stranded Thursday evening, coming home from school and work unable to reach their houses. An afternoon storm dropped 3 to 4 inches of rain in the area, according to Polk County officials, leaving the road flooded with more than 2 feet — some estimated nearly 3 feet — of water.

"There was no place for the rain to go from the storm. It completely flooded the roadway up to and over the sidewalks," another resident, Lyn Anderson, 59, said. "It was a big, big mess."

Kackritz said she braved the waters in her 4-inch lifted Jeep, also equipped with 35-inch tires, and the floodwaters rose above the side step up into the SUV.

Carmen Ortiz, 35, a resident of the Cedarwood area of Imperial Lakes, said she didn't dare take that risk in her Ford Explorer. Ortiz called her husband to rescue her in a larger vehicle.

"As we started driving, we got to our neighborhood and our streets are underwater," she said. "That has never happened before, not even during hurricanes."

Several abandoned cars were left floating in the water, while other drivers had managed to pull their vehicles onto the sliver of median rising above the waters like an island, parking and abandoning hope of going any further.

Kackritz said she and others helped neighbors who parked at Publix at Imperial Lake Plaza and a smaller shopping center, making several trips to help ensure everyone safely reached their homes. Others chose to walk through the floodwaters.

"People didn't know what to do, there was no one out there helping," Anderson said. "There were two deputies out there in their cars, but it was residents who were helping people push their cars out of the road and get each other home safe."

Anderson said it took her son until 11 p.m. Thursday to find someone with a truck to come pick him up and get him to Old Colony Road. A family friend who had come to visit wound up unexpectedly staying the night.

Periodic flooding of Imperial Lakes Boulevard is a not unexpected by its residents. Nearly all who spoke to The Ledger expressed frustration that something hasn't been done to alleviate the issue.

"When I was in high school and driving through it, the county said, 'We will find a solution to remedy this problem,'" said Kackritz, now 37.

Imperial Lakes residents said they were promised a second entrance would be built when Enclave at Imperial Lakes was developed, but the road was never constructed.

When Imperial Lakes Boulevard floods during a heavy rain, residents find themselves either trapped in or flooded out of their homes.

Residents have repeatedly raised fears to Polk County officials that the impassible state of the roadway leaves fire responders, EMS and fire trucks unable to reach the complex's nearly 10,000 residents.

"My biggest fear is someone is going to lose their life because help can't get to them," Anderson said.

What's Polk County plans to address the flooding?

At Friday's agenda study, Polk County Commission Chair Lindsey said all the commissioners had been contacted by residents of Imperial Lakes about flooding that blocked them from driving to their homes.

Lindsay expressed his frustration by the lack of progress on the Imperial Lakes stormwater project and wanted staff to figure something out immediately.

“The governor built a bridge in less than 30 days, and it takes us two years to dig a hole,” he said, exasperated at the timeline for the stormwater drainage project. “Is there any way to expedite the construction and permitting of the land we have acquired for this stormwater management system?"

Lindsey asked whether the current emergency declaration by Polk County for Hurricane Idalia would allow the county to address the flooding immediately, but neither the county administrator or staff immediately responded.

That led to Commissioner Neil Combee to say, “If you all lived there, you would all find a way to move faster.”

Lindsey said he wants a public notice issued to let Imperial Lakes residents know that there is an $8 million project underway.

“Advise the people that we are aware of it, there is a plan in place and we are trying to do what we can to expedite it,” he said.

Bill Skelton, the county's project manager liaison, said the plans to address Imperial Lakes stormwater issues are about 30% through the design phase. Based on this, Skelton told The Ledger he anticipated the project would break ground next fall and and take six months to construct.

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County Attorney Randy Mink jumped into the back and forth, saying, “there is a difference between the governor declaring a state of emergency, but we will work and see what we can find.”

Combee was not satisfied with any of the responses he got, nor did he like hearing it could take six months to determine if short-term measures would just move the problem downstream.

“It doesn’t take six months to figure that out,” he said.

County Manager Bill Beasley said the possibility of a sump pump would be looked into, but he was not certain.

“Maybe there is some temporary pumping arrangements that we can put in place so we can get to capacity to the property that we have acquired,” he said. He added it could pose permitting issues.

Is there a more immediate solution?

Polk County staff reached out to the Southwest Florida Water Management District on Friday afternoon about the flooding issues in Imperial Lakes, according to SWFWMD spokesperson Susanna Tarokh said.

Tarokh said the district issued an emergency order in response to Hurricane Idalia that authorizes affected local governments to conduct certain pumping activities without providing notice to district.

Skelton told The Ledger that one of Polk's senior drainage experts went to the development to ensure the county's stormwater drainage pipes were all clear but said there might be issues with swales maintained by the subdivision's various homeowner associations.

The county's Road and Drainage Department was somewhat short-staffed Friday afternoon, Skelton said, and he wasn't sure what could be done ahead of Labor Day weekend.

"We are aware and we are investing money in a permanent fix," he said. "We realize it probably won't come quickly enough for the residents who are out there."

Private landowners who want to create offsite temporary discharge by pumping water out must contact the Swiftmud prior to starting any activity.

Homeowners with questions and concerns can contact the water management district's Bartow Service Office at 863-534-1448.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @ SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Imperial Lakes flooding problems boil into rage with recent rains