One year after Hurricane Milton sent Lake Bonny spilling over into dozens of homes, many residents are still reeling — emotionally, financially and, in some cases, still displaced.
Lakeland and Polk County have a plan to prevent it from happening again. But much depends on whether the Florida Division of Emergency Management approves the county’s application for an $11.8 million hazard mitigation grant.
Serious infrastructure gaps
A six-month watershed study commissioned by the city and completed in July by Tampa-based engineering firm AECOM revealed why flooding during Hurricane Milton was so severe.
The study found that:
- Current capacity is underpowered. The existing pump and drainage system is designed to move 18.56 cubic feet of water per second, but actually only effectively moves half that — about 9.7 cfs — which is far too low to manage larger rain events.
- Big upgrades are needed for larger storms. To hold off flooding in a 10-year storm would require a capacity of about 50 cfs. A 100-year event — akin to what Milton produced — could need up to four times that.
- Starting levels were high. Heavy rainfall in the months before Milton left the lake and watershed nearly full, leaving no room for runoff when the storm arrived.
Three options
Ultimately, the water from Lake Bonny needs a place to go. The report outlined three potential solutions:
- Upgrade the existing pump station and send water to Lake Parker at a higher rate, diverting overflow to an old phosphate mine along upper Saddle Creek if needed.
- Relocate the pump station and send water directly to the old phosphate mine, which could serve as a temporary or long-term reservoir.
- Build a new pump station and send water to a wetland buffer north of Colonial Avenue, with controlled release into Lake Parker, effectively using the wetland as overflow or intermediate storage.
Trade-offs abound
None of the alternatives is simple…