Flooding becomes major issue for some Windermere residents

WINDERMERE, Fla. — Flooding is becoming a real issue for some people living in Windermere.

People living along Gotha Road said it's gotten much worse, and they still don't know where the mysterious water flow is coming from.

Channel 9 photojournalist Mateo Bachini was almost to his waist in mud for 10 minutes Wednesday.

Homeowner David Boers came to the rescue in a yard where a mysterious flow of water has taken over, even breaking through a huge berm and swallowing a front-end loader.

"Every time, we think we've held it," he said. "All it takes is a little bit to come over and it washes out like you see here."

Channel 9 on Wednesday obtained an email thread between a Florida's Turnpike drainage engineer and Orange County's public works director.

In the email chain, the pair discusses the need for input from the St. Johns River Water Management District.

An email suggests stormwater pumping by the city of Ocoee could be part of the problem, but residents believe heavy rains are flowing off Florida's Turnpike and into their pond and yards.

"There's a lot of finger-pointing," homeowner Jim Dougherty said. "At this point, it's not about who's responsible. Let's fix the problem."

Since Orange County started pumping water out of the properties, a small pond has swelled and swallowed 2-foot markers planted a week ago.

Dougherty's garage and front door are already sandbagged.

"We got it the first time in '05 when the Turnpike finished the expansion," Boers said. "And now we're getting it this year, and now there's dead fish around the pond. It smells. It's dangerous."

A Florida's Turnpike spokesman provided Channel 9 with the following statement Thursday:

"This Turnpike project was designed to meet all FDOT and SJRWMD criteria. The project included floodplain compensation and a design that did not increase roadway runoff to any adjacent roads, homes or developments."

Cox Media Group