A summer evening shower isn’t usually considered a disaster. Garden enthusiasts might welcome a chance to turn off the sprinklers for a day. And pool owners could appreciate the free water level boost.
But for Wes Bayes and other residents of Magnolia Green, a neighborhood located about one mile east of the Turkey Creek Road and Trapnell Road intersection, two hours of rain the evening of Monday, Sept. 8, turned into a catastrophe.
“We’re basically the second-lowest point in the neighborhood,” Bayes said. “At the end of my driveway, we had a foot of water.”
The water reached all the way up to his garage.
The streets surrounding Bayes’ house were flooded to the point that only some pickups were able to drive through. Bayes said an elderly woman’s new Mercedes broke down at a nearby intersection, and the water ruined her car’s electronic system.
“Her car is likely totaled because of it,” Bayes said. “She was OK but just scared.”
Flooding in Magnolia Green has been a common occurrence for Bayes. He said he could recall five times that it had been a significant problem since he moved to his house in January 2009.
The source of the problem is a stormwater drainage point on Magnolia Meadows Drive that becomes clogged easily. Plant City Engineer Brett Gocka said the problem was not the design of the system but the location of the drain in relation to the landscaping.
“The HOA continues to place mulch around the area of the drain,” Gocka said. “When it rains, the runoff moves the mulch onto the drain gate, causing the blockage.”
Bayes said the Public Works Department had responded to each flooding incident he has witnessed, but workers typically arrived after Bayes had cleaned out most of the drain himself.
“I was standing in almost three feet of water (this time), trying to clear the vent,” he said.
Bayes has encouraged his neighbors to call the Magnolia Green Homeowners Association to complain. He has repeatedly called the HOA and left voicemails, but he has received no response. Gocka said he had discussed the issue with a representative of the HOA after the first flooding incident, to suggest surrounding the mulch with stones to try to block it from escaping.
“Nobody wants to write a check and pay to fix this, and I can understand that, but they’re one bad experience from having to write a big check, or some kid gets drowned or something like that,” Bayes said.
Eric Davidson is the COO of Meritus Communities, a Tampa company that manages Magnolia Green. He said he had not heard anything about the flooding problem. The company’s local property manager, Ken Joines, did not respond to the Plant City Times & Observer’s attempts to contact him.
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@PlantCityObserver.com.