LAKELAND, Fla. — Residents living near Lake Bonny voiced their frustrations at Lakeland’s commission meeting on Monday.

What You Need To Know

  • Lake Bonny residents voiced their frustrations during Lakeland’s Commission meeting

  • Residents say the damage wouldn’t have been as extensive if officials addressed concerns about the area’s emergency pump sooner

  • Mayor Bill Mutz and others acknowledge the pump is not running as effectively as it needs to

  • City leaders say they’re working with several agencies to resolve the issue

Resident Pamela Smith fought back tears as she addressed Mayor Bill Mutz and city leaders.

“We have nowhere to live. You guys are our only lifeline,” she said.

Her home on Lake Bonny Drive is still flooded with water nearly two weeks after Hurricane Milton.

“One hundred thirteen feet from my back door to the dock, and it’s flooded. It surrounds our house,” she said.

Smith said the lake started to encroach on her yard in early August. Once Hurricane Milton made landfall, she said water entered her home, along with sewage from a city waste line. Now, Smith and her family are unable to live inside.

“Our home is completely ruined. Completely ruined. It’s uninhabitable,” she said. “Anything that’s in this house at this moment, we cannot take out. We can’t take anything with us after this.”

Smith and her husband said the damage wouldn’t have been as extensive if officials had addressed concerns about the area’s emergency pump sooner. Each time residents called, Smith said they were given the same response.

“City employees told us it’s pumping. It’s working, it’s working, it’s working,” she said.

According to a public notice from Communications Director Kevin Cook, Lakeland obtained a permit from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) to construct and operate an emergency pump to increase water flow from Lake Bonny to Lake Parker. While city commissioners assure the pump is working, they acknowledge it’s not operating as effectively as needed.

“There are two parts: where it’s being pumped to can only handle so much, and that’s going to keep the water from flowing back,” Commissioner Mike Musick said. “And the other thing is just debris from the storm. We had a hurricane blowing all over the place, so being out there all the time—just like a pool—you’ve got to screen it, then re-screen it, and then re-screen it.”

However, Mutz said the flooding has reached beyond what the pump can address.

“To be as drastic as necessary, we have to do something that requires much more pumping in that area,” he said.

Mutz and others said they are working behind the scenes with several agencies, including SWFWMD, to resolve the issue. However, Smith said without a long-term solution, she and her neighbors are worried this will become a recurring problem.

“So now what are we going to do?” Smith said.

Residents will have the opportunity to express their concerns during the Polk County Commission meeting on Nov.  5.