Lakeland mobile community fed up with ongoing flooding

LAKELAND, Fla. — For people living at Citrus Center Colony, flooding during heavy rainfall is a common occurrence.

“Even if it’s not a hurricane — if it’s just rain, and it rains hard here. I mean, when the sky opens up, it opens up here in Florida. This will flood,” resident Butch Scheffer said, pointing at his driveway.

Scheffer says the flooding during Hurricane Milton was the worst he’s seen in the 55+ community over the past four years. The water was so high, he and his neighbors had to evacuate.

The most recent flooding, he says, happened in early August on Rangpur and Satsuma streets.

The Army veteran points to the community’s drainage system as the cause of the flooding. He says he has made several complaints to the property owners, Bedrock Communities, over the years, but each time he is told improvements will be made, including the addition of a retention pond.

“They didn’t put a pool in. They’re not going to put a pool in. It’s just flapping gums,” Scheffer said.

In a statement, Dale Bennet, vice president of facilities at Bedrock Communities, said:

“We’ve been working diligently to address the drainage issue at Citrus Center Colony. We’ve confirmed that our drainage pump is working properly to move rainwater from the community to adjoining stormwater ditches outside of Citrus Center Colony, however, sections of the ditch were filled with brush and debris. The City of Lakeland has already cleared a portion of the ditches to allow water to drain properly, and we’ve contacted Southwest Florida Water Management District to request that the remaining section be cleared. In addition, we’ve spoken with neighboring communities and engaged them to clear their sections of the ditches to allow water to drain.” 

Despite these efforts, Scheffer, who recently put his home up for sale, says he’s not sticking around for another hurricane season to find out.

“It’s just going to happen again,” he said.

Scheffer says he still has to repair damage to his home before he can sell it. Once he does, he plans to move far west.