WHO: City of Lakeland and Lake Bonny Residents WHAT: Lake Bonny Public Meeting WHY: To hear from Lake Bonny residents WHEN: Wednesday, November 6, 2024 WHERE: City Commission Chambers, City Hall, 228 S. Massachusetts Avenue, Lakeland, FL 33801 The City of Lakeland will host a public meeting for Lake Bonny residents that have been impacted by flooding due to Hurricane Milton. The meeting will take place November 6, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. in the Lakeland City Commission Chambers located at City Hall, 228 South Massachusetts Avenue. The purpose of the meeting is to provide current information regarding the flooding situation and to hear from Lake Bonny residents who are still experiencing flood conditions.
There will be a presentation from City Manager, Shawn Sherrouse to start the meeting and then the floor will open for residents to voice concerns. FEMA and other resource agencies will be on site. During Hurricane Milton, the Lakeland area experienced over 12 inches of rain in 24 hours taxing the City’s stormwater and natural drainage systems. To decrease the water levels at Lake Bonny, the City of Lakeland will be adding an additional pump as a TEST to see if it provides additional relief for Lake Bonny.
Water levels are dropping faster in Lake Parker than Lake Bonny. This is causing the water level in the Canal Street conveyance ditch to lower in conjunction with Lake Parker. Lake Parker’s drop in water elevation has allowed the City pump to operate at maximum capacity. The City has been granted permission to install a temporary pump that will add more water volume into the system to help increase flows from Lake Bonny into Lake Parker. The secondary pump can move up to 4,500 gallons of water per minute. The secondary pump will start at idle speed and ramp up slowly with supervision from the Southwest Florida Water Management (SWFWMD) and the City of Lakeland. The system will be monitored to make sure the conveyance ditch and underground plumbing can accommodate the additional outflow. Initial operation of the secondary pump will be a test. If the operation of the pump is successful without any adverse impacts, pump capacity will be increased. However, if there are adverse conditions, the secondary pump will be taken offline. On October 23, 2024, the Army Corps of Engineers began operating two pumps at Lake Bonny with a combined total output of 5,600 gallons per minute. The strategy has closed a portion of Main Street to run above ground pipe from Lake Bonny to a stormwater outflow on North Gary Road. The stormwater system discharges to Lake Parker and flows to Lake Hancock before being discharged to the Peace River. The SWFWMD oversees and manages water bodies that flow to the Peace River. With the installation of the new pump, there will now be four high-capacity industrial pumps moving water from Lake Bonny to Lake Parker. MULTI-AGENCY SOLUTION TO PUMP ADDITIONAL STORMWATER FROM LAKE BONNY
The City of Lakeland is working with several agencies in ongoing efforts to mitigate the sustained flooding on Lake Bonny. The City of Lakeland has been coordinating with the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), Polk County, US Army Corp of Engineers, and the State of Florida to develop a flood mitigation plan. The US Army Corp of Engineers is providing two industrial water pumps that will be placed on the northwest corner of Lake Bonny on the recreational pathway and 6,000 feet of piping to remove water from Lake Bonny and transfer it to Lake Parker. SWFWMD and Polk County has agreed to allow Lake Bonny outflow to be discharged into the Peace River. The equipment is being delivered from Clewiston, Florida within the next 24-hours. City and SWFWMD staff will work around the clock to install the system and get it operational. Staff will man the system 24/7 to ensure it is operating and not causing unintended flooding in the vicinity of the operations. The strategy will include the closing of Main Street to run above ground pipe from Lake Bonny to a stormwater outflow on North Gary Road, just north of the train trestle. The stormwater system discharges to Lake Parker and flows to Lake Hancock before being discharged to the Peace River. The SWFWMD oversees and manages water bodies that flow to the Peace River. City Manager Shawn Sherrouse said, “The City of Lakeland team has continued to agonize alongside our flooded Lake Bonny residents. We have tirelessly sought every opportunity to reduce flooding levels without negatively impacting other residents or major commerce networks.” He added, “By stepping back from our current pump location, we were able to think outside the box and devise a unique plan to redirect floodwaters into Lake Parker. This project involves several agencies, and we truly value their efforts and support. I especially want to commend City staff for their unwavering dedication to helping those in our community most affected by Hurricane Milton.” The overland piping once installed will impact pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic. The proposed layout of the piping will result in closed roads that will include: E. Main Street at Elgin Street, Elgin Street, N. Fern Road from Elgin Street to Alicia Road, N. Gary Road from Rose Street to E. Magnolia Street/E. Gary Road. Motorists are encouraged to avoid the area and follow the advance notice detours. The recreational path from Lake Bonny Drive to the boat ramp will be closed as well. The system will operate for an undetermined timeframe, and if successful, will continue until Lake Bonny reaches an acceptable level and provides relief to those impacted. Residential Garbage Collection resumed normal operations. This includes garbage, recycling, and yard waste. Expect delays in bagged and containerized yard waste collection. Place any extra bags of garbage next to the green garbage cart and it will be picked up.
City of Lakeland crews estimate there are between 200,000 and 250,000 cubic yards of tree and vegetative debris that will need to be removed from Lakeland area streets.Hurricane debris including large yard waste piles and household items will be collected street by street by FEMA Contractors and city claw trucks. There is no need to call in large piles of tree or household debris. The City’s contract haulers are now mobilized and currently removing debris from City streets. As a reminder, please keep debris away from trees, poles, structures, fire hydrants, and meters. Do not block the roadway with debris. Curbside debris needs to be separated into these categories:
A debris hotline has been established. Staff will be able to let the caller know where debris haulers are currently working and explain the debris removal process. The hotline is live 863-834-TREE (8733). The City of Lakeland currently has dedicated nine debris collection crews, 14 hauling units and six bucket trucks to assist in debris removal. Day Seven - System Restored
Lakeland Electric has restored its system following Hurricane Milton. Power has been reinstated for customers who can safely receive service. As clean-up efforts continue, hazards such as hanging tree limbs remain, which could cause short-term outages. Customers will continue to see numerous crews in the area reconnecting service to customers whose damaged property or electrical equipment has been repaired. Customers with damaged electrical equipment or those dealing with flooding may be unable to safely receive power until the floodwaters recede or their equipment undergoes assessment and repair by a qualified electrician. Once the property owner has made repairs, customers should contact (863) 834-9535 to have power safely reconnected. Lakeland Electric would like to express its deepest gratitude to the over 500 mutual aid personnel from Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Florida who assisted in the power restoration effort. Additionally, it extends its thanks to the men and women at Lakeland Electric who have worked tirelessly to serve their community during this emergency. Customer Service
We currently have fewer than 200 customers without power who can safely receive service. Our efforts to restore power have not diminished. We are dedicating all of our resources to restoring power to our community.
Power restoration and circuit sweeps will continue through tomorrow. This means we will be inspecting power lines from beginning to end in each circuit to locate and repair low-hanging wires, tree limbs on wires, damaged meters, and damage to customers' electrical equipment. Crews will also be reconnecting service to customers whose equipment has been repaired and are now able to receive service. We will not rest until every customer has their power restored. Outages
Crews continue to restore power to customers quickly. In some areas, lineworkers are accessing job sites by boat to restore power. Restoration continues in dry portions of our community as well. We continue to encounter large amounts of tree debris that must be removed to restore power.
Our call center is open; customers who have had an electrician repair damage to their electrical equipment should call (863) 834-9535 to have their service reconnected. Outages
We are beginning circuit sweeps today, that means that our crew will be riding circuits from beginning to end looking for any tree limbs on wires that are currently energized, damage to customers electrical equipment, low hanging wires, etc.
Much of our work today continues to focus on easements and backyards. This work is slow because we can't use bucket trucks, and lineworkers must climb poles to restore power. We are finishing restoration efforts today in the northeast portion of our territory for customers who can safely receive power. Heavy work will be occurring along the New Tampa Highway area. As more work is being completed in easements and backyards, please keep gates and fences unlocked and keep dogs inside for the safety of our teams and to help keep restoration moving quickly. Outages
An insurance village will be open at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to help Polk County residents who need assistance filing insurance claims. Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 16, the insurance village will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until further notice.
The RP Funding Center is located at 701 West Lime St., Lakeland. The village will serve as an opportunity for policyholders to meet with their insurance carriers in person and work together to file insurance claims. Policyholders should bring as much documentation as they can, including:
Due to space limitations, the insurance village will exclusively focus on insurance related-issues and staff from other agencies will not be present to assist with other post-storm benefits. For more information visit www.FloridaDisaster.org. For the most up-to-date Polk County emergency management information, please monitor your local news media. Check the county website for updates at www.polk-county.net. You may also obtain further emergency information at www.facebook.com/polkcountyem and www.twitter.com/polkemergency. Gas is being delivered from the port of Tampa, there are stations in the area that are running normal operations with regularly scheduled fuel deliveries. Residential Garbage Collection inside the City of Lakeland resumed normal operations today, Monday, October 14. This includes garbage, recycling and yard waste. For example, if a customer has Friday as their normal day for collection, please place carts out for a Friday pickup. Expect delays in bagged and containerized yard waste collection. Place any extra bags of garbage next to the green garbage cart and it will be picked up. Hurricane debris including large yard waste piles and household items will be collected by FEMA Contractors and city claw trucks. No need to call in large piles of tree or household debris. The City’s contract debris haulers have been mobilized and the City of Lakeland is getting debris sites ready. These are FEMA contractors so we must adhere to the FEMA rules with debris.
At the peak Lakeland Electric had approximately 85,000 customers without power. As of this morning that number is down to 5,5000. Our dedicated field personnel have been working tirelessly to make progress. Lakeland Electric now estimates that all power will be restored for those that can safely receive power by Wednesday, October 16, 2024. As more work is being completed in easements and backyards, please keep gates and fences unlocked and keep dogs inside for the safety of our teams and to help keep restoration moving quickly. Customers with damaged electrical equipment like a weather head or those in the heavily flooded areas may not get power until the floodwaters recede or damaged equipment undergoes assessment and repair by a qualified electrician. Detailed estimation times are now available on the Lakeland Electric outage map by zone. Customers can go to Lakelandelectic.com/outagemap and click zone in the navigation. Lakeland Electric reports that all Combee Settlement will be restored Tuesday, October 15. Please call Customer Service at 863-834-9535 to report electric emergencies and downed lines. Lakeland Electric has over 600 personnel helping restore power. This includes more than 500 mutual aid personnel from Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Florida. There are some areas around Lakeland that were hit very hard with flooding. The Lakeland area experienced over 12 inches of rain in 24 hours taxing the City’s stormwater system. All area lakes are flooded, and it is very difficult to alleviate flood conditions and lower lake levels. Most of the drainage lakes, tributaries and rivers have high levels and that is not helping flood situations. There are three major watershed basins in the City of Lakeland, and outflows from area Lakes flow into either the Hillsborough River or the Peace River. The Peace and Hillsborough Rivers eventually flow into the Gulf of Mexico. Water flows from higher elevation to lower elevation. The water bodies were naturally connected with streams and creeks but as the area became more urbanized drainage systems have been built to enhance those natural flows. The operation of the flood control structures is coordinated to ensure that downstream drainage can handle the additional capacity without causing more flooding. The downstream rivers (Peace and Hillsborough) flow through relatively flat terrain with little elevation changes, which leads to significant regional flooding after major storm events. The Peace and Hillsborough Rivers have been in flood stage since the passing of Tropical Storm Debby, and Hurricanes Helene and Milton have fully exacerbated the flooding situation. This makes it very difficult to drain flooded upstream waters. The largest surface water drainage system is Lake Parker. Lakes at higher elevation that flow into Lake Parker include Lake Gibson (via Lake Crago) and Lake Mirror. Lake Bonny is at a relatively equal elevation to Lake Parker, and depending on which lake has higher water levels, water will flow from Parker to Bonny, or Bonny to Parker. The City operates a control structure between Bonny and Parker, and when water levels rise above the operating range in Lake Bonny, the structure is closed and a 12 MGD pump is used to push water from Lake Bonny to Lake Parker. SWFWMD operates a control structure on the east side of Lake Parker that allows water to flow into Saddle Creek to Lake Hancock. Lake Hancock outflows through a SWFWMD operated structure into the Peace River.
The City’s stormwater system and sanitary sewer system has been taxed heavily. The City of Lakeland asks residents, to reduce the use of water - only use toilets, laundry, and other water, as absolutely necessary. All used water going down the drain impacts the wastewater process in moving water through the system. Be careful and when approaching standing water, do so with extreme caution because not all water is stormwater. Refrain from recreational contact in and around water bodies. Many of these systems have been adversely impacted by Hurricane Milton with high water levels, potential contamination and submerged structures.
Hurricane Milton caused several water main breaks, and the City’s Water Department continues to work on the water system. There is a growing list of boil water notices in place. Go to lakelandgov.net/boilwaternotices for the latest updates. Most of the traffic signals are back online but we have a few without power. Please be cautious on the streets and treat signalized intersections like a four-way stop. Verizon has reported they have recovered some of their cell towers so coverage should start getting better. Crews are working diligently to get power restored and life back to normal. Milton made landfall as a Category Three Hurricane and was a Category Two as it travelled over Polk County. Many in the community were impacted. Both state and the federal government have resources available to help that received damage from Hurricane Milton. It is very important for those that received damage from the storm to register with both the state and the federal programs. 1. Register for State Assistance at Activate Hope: https://hopeflorida.com/get-help/hurricanemilton.html 2. Register for Federal Assistance: https://www.disasterassistance.gov/DAC-RI/location-search Homeowners and renters in 34 counties are now eligible to apply for Individual Assistance due to damages from Hurricane Milton. Register at http://DisasterAssistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362. Residents that may need help with debris cleanup can call Crisis Cleanup: 844-965-1386. Volunteers may be able to assist with: fallen trees, drywall, flooring & appliance removal, tarping roofs and mold mitigation Please visit lakelandgov.net/hurricane for additional information regarding restoration and notices. |
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