Eye on the Tropics

Hurricane Irma aftermath: Raw sewage, flooding problems in Winter Park

WINTER PARK, Fla. — There are hundreds of pump stations throughout Orange County and most are working fine, except 17 of them in Winter Park that are without power.

“When I called them (Winter Park) about the sewage coming out, they said well they only have three generators and they don't have enough to go around,” said resident Richard Bundy.

Most of the power stations without power are serviced by Duke Energy.

The city is rotating generators pumping for six to eight hours to keep up.

Bundy said the city has been to the station in his neighborhood twice, but the sewage keeps coming back.

“Monday night, been bubbling. It's like putting a Band-Aid on it. Just comes bubbling back up. Yesterday at 4:30, 12 at night it was bubbling again,” Bundy said.

Officials with Winter Park said they are working with Duke Energy to get the lift stations back online, but didn't give a timeline.

The city has asked residents to limit their water usage, don’t flush the toilet as much, take shorter showers and avoid doing the laundry and using dishwashers.

Winter Park has requested more generators from Orange County, but in the meantime, city lakes are closed until the problem is fixed.

A sewage overflow has occurred near Little Lake Conway. Residents should avoid all contact with lake water until further notice, county officials announced Thursday.