Dundee property owner wants solution for flooding issues after Polk County road drain construction

Homeowner blames county drain for ranch flooding

A homeowner if fed up with flooding on her property that she claims started after Polk County constructed a road drain years ago. FOX 13’s Carla Bayron reports. 

DUNDEE, Fla. - A property owner is fed up with flooding she claims started after Polk County constructed a road drain several years ago.

The backstory:

When it rains, stormwater flowing from Weiberg Road drains into Lupe Jaramillo's ranch.

"These storms that we have here in Florida, they can be a 30-minute storm and we'll have a lake out here," said Jaramillo.

Her husband built a small retention pond and dug out an easement to get the water to flow outward instead of just accumulating, but that has only helped a little bit.

She's worried about the safety of her animals.

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"We have our animals in there, and they're not supposed to be in mucky water and we have our cows out here so it's really bad," said Jaramillo.

The other side:

Jay Jarvis, the county's roads and drainage director, says in 2021, an old, blocked pipe was causing flooding on the north side of Weiberg Road, which is why they replaced it so now the water flows where it was always meant to -- onto Jaramillo's property.

According to county records, the property sits on a flood plain.

"Basically, once the rains got established and started discharging, that's when we started seeing water coming through that system because that's where it historically went across that piece of property," said Jarvis.

The county still owns Weiberg Road; however, Jaramillo's property sits within the town of Dundee's jurisdiction. Jarvis says the town could work with Jaramillo's family to grant an easement to establish any kind of drainage across their property.

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However, if the family prefers not to work with the town, they have another option, though it still requires town and state permits.

"In theory, they could dig a ditch across their property and try to drain their property, but it depends on how much dirt they bring in and provide that type of drainage system across the property," said Jarvis.

The town's public works director, Johnathon Vice, says they're willing to grant an easement. They're also considering acquiring Weiberg Road and maintaining a controlling interest in whatever happens.

Dig deeper:

Jaramillo says her family's dream is to build several homes on the land.

"Our hope is somebody repairs the damages that has been done--making it right," she said. "We can't have the water just sitting there."

What's next:

The city and county tell FOX 13 they'll have a meeting in the future to figure out a potential solution.