PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Pasco County agencies are working to clear a stormwater drainage system near Lake Worrell before heavy rains expected to arrive with Hurricane Dorian hit the area.
- Lake Worrell currently spilling into residents' yards
- Drainage from the lake blocked, possibly by dead vegetation
- Residents say drainage has been a constant problem
- More Pasco County stories
The water is rising near the neighborhood lake, as are neighbors’ concerns.
Helena Fletcher lives on the edge of the lake, which right now is spilling into people's yards.
“This is just normal rain that’s caused this. This hasn’t even been a storm," she said, pointing to standing water on her property. "So with Dorian coming, I don’t know what we’re going to get."
Lake Worrell is part of a waterway that extends all the way up to Brooksville.
Stormwater runoff trickles down along that waterway south of Ridge Road via a stormwater flow system.
The problem is the flow through the system just a couple of hundred feet from the lake is impeded by debris and overgrown vegetation.
Pasco County Public Works, the sheriff's office, and dive teams set out to clear that blockage on Thursday before Dorian makes landfall.
“This has been on Public Works' radar for a while,” said director of emergency management Sharon Russell. “The priority increased because of the expected increased rainfall over the past several days.”
Fletcher said flooding north of Ridge Road has been a constant problem. It happened during Hurricane Irma, too.
While neighbors are glad to see the blockage cleared, they hope for long-term solutions eventually.
“It should never have been allowed to get this bad,” Fletcher said.