LONGWOOD, Fla. – News 6 first started looking into the flooding in Longwood’s Shadow Bay neighborhood months ago, when families there told us one of their neighbors filled a drainage pipe with concrete.
Now, whenever there is heavy rain the street floods and with tropical weather expected through the weekend neighbors are worried it will make their problem much worse.
“I’m afraid it’s going to come in my house,” Sally Spire said. “It’s supposed to rain all weekend.”
Spires has lived in the Shadow Bay community for years, and she’s never seen it like this before.
In March, neighbors told News 6 a woman sent letters out to warn the neighborhood she planned on closing off a drainpipe on her property.
It reads in part, “At some point in time in the past, a drain pipe was installed in my property, without my permission” and “once I close that pipe off, you will have a drain problem that will back up on the road, and on your property, and potentially on my property.”
Spires said since the pipe was filled with concrete in April it’s common to see the street flooded.
“It’s frustrating. It’s aggravating and it doesn’t have to be this way,” Spires said.
Even more frustrating, Seminole County said there is little they can do because Shadow Bay is a private community with a homeowners association. The woman was given a code enforcement violation and a deadline to fix the issues, which was extended until Aug. 7.
That’s not in time for the storm that is expected to impact Central Florida this weekend.
When News 6 visited the neighborhood Friday night, the road was already completely covered in water after only 20 minutes of heavy rain.
“This is going to sit here for days,” Spires said.
Spires said she was told the county will send emergency vehicles if needed.
“But if the water is coming in your house maybe it could have been stopped,” Spires said. “That doesn’t really make you feel good.”
A county spokesperson said they are monitoring the situation at the Shadow Bay Club community. They sent the following statement in response to the community’s concerns:
“Emergency Management and Public Works officials continue to assess the predicated rainfall totals and while they are not expected to affect the homes in the community, a sandbag site has been set up directly in the neighborhood for residents’ convenience.”
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