A Longwood neighborhood fears the outcome of hurricane Debby and severe weather after their neighbor clogged the drain pipes with cement. The residents of Shadowbay have been struggling with lack of drainage since their neighbor blocked the only pipe in the area back in March.
The woman sent out a letter stating her plans. “Please be advise that I reside at (Shadowbay address). I am downgrade from all of you in your residential community. At some point in time in the past, a drain pipe was installed in my property, without my permission. It drains the road in front of me and also a number of upgraded houses to whom I am sending a copy of this letter,” she said.
The pipe prevents roadways around the community from flooding. “I advise you of this, because once I close that pipe off, you will have a drain problem that will back up on the road, and on your property, and potentially on my property, because the drain, as I said, goes through my property without my permission, or without any authority.”
In April, she followed through on her word. Because the pipe is on the woman’s property, both the Homeowners Association and Seminole County could not stop the drain from being filled, or remove the cement.
The woman’s original deadline from the county to remove the cement was then extended from July 22nd to August 7th while the county conducted a title search to complete an investigation into the origin of the drain pipe.
As the severe weather approaches, the residents desperately seek help from the county. They are strongly requesting help from the county to just have the concrete removed. The county says they are monitoring the flooding. “Emergency Management and Public Works officials continue to assess the predicted rainfall totals and while they are not expected to affect the homes in the community, a sandbag site has been set up directly in the neighborhood for residents’ convenience.”
Seminole County also provided the community with sandbags to avoid the flooding that the storm may cause.
