VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — In Volusia County, several sections of Lake Helen remain underwater.
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Frustrated neighbors have taken it upon themselves to pump out the water on their own, but the city tells Eyewitness News their actions may be premature.
The source of the flooding on North High Street comes from a retention pond behind some homes. It’s saturated the street, spilled over into yards, and forced some people to have to leave.
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“It’s covering the septic tank. They can’t use the bathroom. They can’t do anything, and it goes all the way around their houses so they can’t even be home,” said Belinda Delano.
Neighbors began using a donated pump and pulled together funds to pay for pipes to drain the water into another lake but after hearing from St. John’s River Water Management District, City Administrator Jim Gleason had some concerns.
“They are questioning. So, I know the comment is going to be who is pumping and what? And there may be some issues from the state coming down telling us, giving us better guidelines or at least some information saying you can, or you can’t do this,” said Gleason.
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He explained it as a complicated issue because the pond is private, so the city is not technically responsible for maintaining it. However, he does want to help but said that may not be possible until the water naturally recedes.
“Once that is all settled, we can go through and reassess storm water plans and see what is adequate and what is not and do we have to change standards,” said Gleason.
Neighbors said representatives from FEMA were in the area on Friday and said they would try to speed the process up.
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