SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — Residents living in the Laurel Meadows neighborhood in Sarasota County say all 86 homes in the community have been flooded, and they’re frustrated that the water kept rising days after Tropical Storm Debby passed by the area.

“We had nearly 75 hours since the stop of the rain … it only got higher and higher,” said resident Jeff Schermerhorn. “We’re not in a river or a riverway or an overflow. We’re (about) 30 feet above elevation. We should be OK out here.”

Schermerhorn owns a Humvee and has been one of the few residents who can navigate the deeply flooded roads in the neighborhood. Many of the parked cars were submerged in floodwater and will also be a total loss.

On Thursday, Schermerhorn noticed there was one home that was just beginning to dry out.

“He’s a little bit higher,” said Schermerhorn. “His garage is already drained out.”

Some homes had several feet of water inside. Schermerhorn said there was about a foot of water inside his family’s home, which they purchased last year. He said they put their life savings into remodeling it and the entire family has been devastated.

“No father wants to see their daughter or son or child literally just break down, and we feel helpless,” he said. “To see that heartbreak on them, I mean, I don’t get choked up much, but that was probably one of the hardest days of my life. Being a father was seeing my kids’ reaction to their life being destroyed.”

Tropical Storm Debby dumped 18 inches of rain on the community, but it stopped raining on Monday, according to Spectrum News Chief Meteorologist Mike Clay. Many residents firmly believe the unprecedented flooding they experienced was not just from Debby.

“This is not a natural occurrence, and anybody who has been driving through here now, I think, is really fully understanding this is somebody’s mess up,” said Schermerhorn. “This is an error, and it caused a lot of damage.”

Resident Mike Vance said he has lived in the Laurel Meadows community for 20 years and has seen hurricanes dump a lot of rain with no problems.

“We had Ian come right through," he said. "It rained right along the outside of Lorraine Road. All the big bands dropped 14 inches of rain. I think it wasn’t a natural event.”

Schermerhorn said residents have been left wondering if the extreme flooding is due to the area being overdeveloped and drainage not being properly maintained. He said some residents have video of water flowing over a road from the Bee Ridge Water Restoration Facility, which has a large reservoir of treated wastewater and is located next to the community.

“It was literally coming across the grass, across the road, like a river,” he said. “It was a constant river of water flowing directly into our neighborhood.”

The facility’s retention pond did not overflow during the storm, according to Sarasota County spokesperson Sam Parker.

“It has an additional 2-3 feet of capacity that was not reached throughout the storm,” she said. “This retention pond contains fully treated wastewater that is reused for irrigation.” 

Parker said public utilities can confirm no wastewater is present in the flooded out area.

“Regarding the two spills that occurred at the Bee Ridge facility due to increased flows caused by Hurricane Debby,” she stated. “All wastewater from these spills was contained onsite and has not contributed to the flooding in the Laurel Meadows community.”

Public works was inspecting the area on Thursday, began actively clearing vegetation and has placed a pump in the area to improve and quicken the drainage, according to Parker.

On Thursday, Lorraine Road, which is the main artery into the community, was still impassable to most vehicles. Schermerhorn said he has noticed the floodwater has begun to recede very slowly.

“It doesn’t look as bad as it did just even last night,” he said. “There are a lot of questions that need a lot of answers.”