Heavy rain floods Lakeland street; residents call for drainage fixes

LAKELAND, Fla. — Heavy rain Wednesday afternoon flooded parts of Easton Drive in Lakeland, damaging a brick road that city crews quickly began repairing.

Neighbors said several inches of water collected at a the intersection of Easton Drive and Derbyshire Avenue before rushing toward homes. A neighborhood resident, Terris (whose last name is being withheld) has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years. He said this was the third time the street has flooded this year.

“When we get a little hard rain, it’s a frequent occurrence. I’m tired of it,” he said, adding that floodwaters reached about three inches in less than an hour.

Terris pointed to the community’s drainage system as part of the problem.

“It’s the pipes that’s in the manholes. These smaller pipes that were built out and those smaller pipes can’t handle the water,” he said.

While he doesn’t blame the city, Terris said he hopes officials will replace the aging pipes soon. In the meantime, he is grateful for the workers who step in to help his neighborhood recover, time and time again.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the City of Lakeland said:

“We are aware that Easton sustained damage from last night’s heavy rains. The affected area was the brick street section, where the underlayment was washed out due to the significant rainfall. Our crews were on site as this occurred and have already completed necessary repairs. While we understand the neighborhood’s preference to preserve the brick streets, paving the entire roadway would provide a long-term solution to prevent this issue from recurring.”