The winds and rain from Hurricane Milton have ended, but major flooding is continuing to affect properties around Lakeland as swollen rivers in Sumter and Lake counties push water into the Green Swamp and down into multiple lakes in Lakeland.
Downstream flooding: All that water is making its way into the Peace and Hillsborough rivers, which will cause flooding downstream, Polk emergency officials say.
“It’s really all of the rainfall, and not just in Polk County,” Polk County Emergency Management Director Paul Womble said Saturday afternoon, adding that Central Florida received 12 to 16 inches of rain, including the counties north of Polk County. “And all that water, unfortunately comes south … And we know those levels are rising and likely will continue to rise for the next couple of days.”
RELATED
Some of the flooding:
- Lake Bonny has flooded homes along its north shore and also in the Bonny Shores Mobile Home Park on its east side.
- Parts of the Kathleen area in north Lakeland are under water, with the moving waters of Itchepackesassa Creek making its way across Walker Road.
- Aerial footage of the Willow Ridge neighborhood shows flooded streets and yards, with some homes taking in water.
- County officials announced Saturday afternoon that they were closing Deen Still Road between State Road 33 and Moore Road.
Lake Bonny: Lakeland photographer David Dickey, 49, and his wife Brittany, 34, rode out the storm in their cinder-block home on the north shore of Lake Bonny. When the couple woke Thursday morning after Milton trudged across Polk, they were relieved to see that the lake level had not breached their doors.
“I was so excited – I made him take a selfie because our house was saved,” Brittany said.
David Dickey spent a few minutes Thursday shooting footage of Lake Mirror’s flooded Frances Langford Promenade. They had breakfast with family and grabbed a few sandbags the family wasn’t using, just in case Lake Bonny began to rise.
“When we came back … the water was higher, so we started placing sandbags and tarps,” David said. “The water continued to raise all day.”
They moved their valuables into an AirBnB that Brittany owns.
Lake water flow: When David drove by Lake Mirror again on Friday, he saw that the water was no longer submerging the promenade so, he said, he Googled the water flow of Lakeland’s lakes and found a water atlas produced by the University of South Florida.
One graphic in the massive database shows that water flows from Lake Mirror to Lake Parker, which then flows into Saddle Creek and also into Lake Bonny. But Lake Bonny can also send water to Lake Parker.
“There’s no way to stop the water from Lake Parker, apparently, or they’re pumping it. I don’t know how that works exactly,” Dickey said.
All lakes are high: City of Lakeland Communications Director Kevin Cook said the city is not pumping water into Lake Bonny, but trying to pump as much out as they can through the only “outfall,” a canal on the north side of Lake Bonny to Lake Parker.
“This pump has been operating 24/7 since August 5th,” Cook said. “Unfortunately, Lake Parker water levels are also several feet higher than normal due to the multiple recent storms, and is over its banks, as well, causing localized flooding.”
An outflow canal that uses gravity to send water to Saddle Creek was filled to capacity Saturday, touching the bottom of a bridge and also a church, which was built across the normally shallow canal. In addition, Memorial Boulevard along the south shore of Lake Parker was flooded Saturday, with one westbound lane closed.
“Lake Parker discharges on the east side of the lake to Saddle Creek and into Lake Hancock,” Cook added. “Saddle Creek and Lake Hancock are also flooded, so it remains very difficult to push water out of Lake Bonny and Lake Parker to alleviate flood conditions and lower the lake levels.”
Lake Hancock: Water levels “in the Peace River watershed and specifically, Lake Hancock, have risen to emergency levels” and threaten further flooding of the Peace River, according to a news release issued by Polk County government on Sunday morning.
As a result, county officials are working with the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the city of Bartow to control the release of water from Lake Hancock and monitor levels of water flowing into the lake from the north and discharging to the south, the news release said.
The controlled releases are needed to “protect the structural integrity” of the water conservation structure on the south side of the lake and prevent uncontrolled releases into Saddle Creek and the Peace River, the statement said.
Bonny Shores: In Bonny Shores Mobile Home Park on a southeastern portion of Lake Bonny, Phillip Watkins, 61, was taking his garbage out Saturday morning, walking through the tea-colored flood waters to reach the dumpster.
At 11 p.m. the night of Hurricane Milton, he said a loud noise woke him up. “So, you know, of course, I’m already here. I had to hunker down, and I actually felt my trailer moving,” Watkins said. “And I just started praying at that moment, you know, but unfortunately, the road is flooded. I can barely get out.”
He said homes along the shore line were flooded, but he did not have water inside his home.
Kathleen: Water from Itchepackesassa Creek was moving swiftly across Walker Road and Bella Vista Street on Saturday afternoon. The southern portion of the Itchepackesassa Creek neighborhood had flooded, as usual with any large rainfall. Womble said some homes had as much as four inches of floodwater inside.
Some neighborhoods off Rockridge Road, north of U.S. 98, are impassable. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is delivering water and food to the area via airboat and swamp buggy.
“We know there are neighborhoods where people just can’t … get out,” Womble said.
Polk County Emergency Management has established a fixed distribution site at Walker Road Park, 1035 Walker Road. Because of flooding, it has to be accessed via Swindell Road. Another distribution site is at Gator Creek Reserve at 9725 U.S. 98 North.
Willow Ridge: The Willow Ridge neighborhood near Kathleen Road and Duff Road was under water by Friday. Constructed by Highland Homes in 2022, the neighborhood was built in a field that sits lower than Kathleen Road. Roads and yards flooded and, in some cases, homes, too.
Benson Taylor, 46, and his wife Wanda LeBron, rent their home, which is two doors west of the community’s entrance. The water was up to their garage door on Saturday. They said it did not make it into the house.
“A lot of people out here own and they’re just losing their minds,” Taylor said. “I feel for them. I was actually shocked that this flooded.”
Neighbors have complained on social media that people driving through the flood waters are going so fast that it’s creating a wake and pushing more water into people’s homes.
Shelter open: Womble said those whose homes are flooded can go to the one remaining shelter still open in Polk County in Auburndale at 640 C. Fred Jones Blvd. It is being operated by the state of Florida and the American Red Cross.
“If people need a place to go, you just don’t have any other option, that facility is still available,” Womble said.
South Lakeland and beyond: The swollen waterways are affecting neighborhoods in south Lakeland and points south.
Lake John, which borders the eastern edge of the Cleveland Heights Golf Course, is overflowing into New Jersey Road and multiple cars had to be pulled out, according to resident Coleton Carter.
In Highland City, most of the houses on Oakmont Drive and Imperial Land “made it through Milton OK,” said resident Scott Cunningham. “But in the days since, water has been rapidly and steadily flowing into the area and is beginning to flood homes. About five have been flooded already and a lot more are at risk. Nobody is really sure where the water is coming from and why it’s coming here.”
hurricane milton
latest news
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
My family and I live well lived on this street on Lakeland Bonny. Just 3 houses down from David and Brittany. What’s not mentioned in this article and should be is that the 2 houses at the end are completely under water with it being a foot deep inside the house. Our homes are total losses at this point because that water isn’t going anywhere. And yes I’m almost positive that they did pump more water into lake Bonny later that day. And is still rising today as we had to go get something sentimental out. I have multiple friends around Lakeland who also flooded but the water receded and they are working on repairs. It seems like Bonny is the only one still rising. Today we used a John boat to get in out and assisted the other family next to us to get some things out as well. Unfortunately for these 2 families that completely lost there homes and all of there belongings they don’t have another home to go to. This should be mentioned.