Tractor trailers pulled up to Interlachen Park on Tuesday evening carrying pumps and pipes that will be used to drain floodwaters from Lake Bonny, relieving dozens of residents who have been flooded out of their homes following historic rainfall culminating with Hurricane Milton.
Florida Rep. Jennifer Canady, R-Lakeland, applauded and cheered and City Commissioner Mike Musick was on hand to welcome the workers.
“In recent days, it became clear that both the city and the county had done everything in their power to help residents experiencing significant flooding, especially those in hard-hit Lake Bonny,” said Canady, who has spent time with homeowners and also the state emergency operations director in Tallahassee as multiple officials coordinated between city, county, state and federal agencies.
The help came a day after 18 people begged the Lakeland City Commission to do something and nearly two weeks after Hurricane Milton’s rains rose Lake Bonny to historic levels.
Bonny Shores and Lakeland Livin’ mobile home parks, Lake Bonny Drive East, Sunset Avenue, and Bonny Apartments were inundated with water by Oct. 10 following Milton’s Category 2 winds and rains.
The plan: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will use three industrial water pumps and 7,000 feet of piping to remove water from Lake Bonny and transfer it to Lake Parker. Officials with the Southwest Florida Water Management District – known as Swiftmud – and Polk County have agreed to allow Lake Bonny outflow to be discharged into the Peace River via Lake Parker and Lake Hancock.
Tuesday night’s delivery came from Clewiston and was stored in a city facility between Lake Bonny and Lake Parker overnight. The city and Canady were expecting two pumps, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers delivered three. They also brought 1,000 feet of pipe, with 6,000 feet more coming from Louisiana early Wednesday, Canady said.
City and Swiftmud staff will work around the clock to install the system and get it working, according to City Communications Director Kevin Cook. City staff will tend the system 24/7 to ensure it is operating and not causing unintended flooding in the vicinity of the operations, Cook said.
Pipe route: The above-ground pipes are being routed northwest from Lake Bonny and under the train trestle on North Gary Road near Magnolia Street to a stormwater outflow just north the trestle. The route avoids placing the pipes above the CSX tracks or digging under the tracks.
The stormwater system discharges to Lake Parker, then Saddle Creek, which flows to Lake Hancock before being discharged into the Peace River. Swiftmud oversees and manages water bodies that flow to the Peace River.
Road closures: The layout of the piping will result in closure of a large portion of Main Street, which will be open only to residents between Lake Parker Avenue and Canal Avenue.
Closed roads will include:
- East Main Street at Elgin Street
- Elgin Street
- North Fern Road between Elgin Street and Alicia Road
- North Gary Road between Rose Street and East Magnolia Street/East Gary Road
City officials encourage drivers to avoid the area and follow the detours. The recreational path from Lake Bonny Drive to the boat ramp will be closed as well.
It is too early to know how long the detours will last, according to the city press release, which said, “The system will operate for an undetermined timeframe … until Lake Bonny reaches an acceptable level.”
‘Thinking out of the box’: “The city of Lakeland team has continued to agonize alongside our flooded Lake Bonny residents,” City Manager Shawn Sherrouse said in a press release. “We have tirelessly sought every opportunity to reduce flooding levels without negatively impacting other residents or major commerce networks.”
Sherrouse added that by taking the current pump location out of the equation, “we were able to think outside the box and devise a unique plan to redirect floodwaters into Lake Parker.”
Musick – who along with Commissioner Guy LaLonde Jr. has met with residents at the lake – said he is thankful for Sherrouse, Canady, staff engineers, emergency operators and the truck drivers who arrived Tuesday and were on their way.
“We all cling to the hope and pray that this will bring our Lake Bonnie residents some much-needed relief,” Musick said.
Historic rainfall: The National Weather Service reported that Hurricane Milton’s rainfall was a “1-in-1,000-year event, resulting in unprecedented flooding in the Tampa Bay and Central Florida area.”
Cook said the Lakeland area experienced more than 12 inches of rain in 24 hours, taxing the city’s stormwater system. Prior to Milton, Lakeland experienced a heavy thunderstorm in early August, then Hurricane Helene and finally Milton. The storms poured rainwater into all area lakes and the water kept coming as it washed downstream from areas north of Polk County.
Because all area lakes, rivers and tributaries were flooded and Central Florida is mostly flat, it was very difficult to alleviate flood conditions and lower lake levels.
Since June, the Lake Hollingsworth rain gauge has shown 62.65 inches of rain. The National Weather Service says the normal average is 30.47 inches.
Resident reactions: “They just knocked on my door!! Pumps are coming!” Katelyn Gonzalez wrote on the Lake Bonny Neighborhood Facebook page at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. She posted a picture of a letter given to area residents about road closures in the area.
“This is a God send,” Paul Mazurowski wrote on Facebook. “Now if only we could see a caravan of FEMA trailers rolling in for us that have no place to live. I’ve always been sympathetic with homeless folks but living as such really gives the word homeless a new meaning.”
