South Fort Myers neighborhood tired of dealing with flooding

Residents in a south Fort Myers neighborhood had water going up to their garages after the downpour ended.

Some of them were not surprised by the flooding but were nevertheless frustrated. They said it has been an ongoing issue for years in their Cypress Lake neighborhood.

One man WINK News spoke with said the flooding was six inches up to his garage, and if he hadn’t been prepared with sandbags, it would’ve gone inside his home.

“Within 30 minutes, I’ll have water up against my garage door,” said the man.

But he isn’t the only person dealing with flooding issues.

“Probably the water went all the way down this road, and it was about 8 inches deep or maybe a foot deep over there, and it went an inch deep in my garage,” said Samuel Gibbs.

The weather during the last week was enough for the neighborhood to go afloat.

“The minute it hits two inches, I’m outside in pouring rain with lightning flashing around. Just for a regular storm sandbagging my garage,” said a neighbor.

And neighbors have had enough.

“It sucks when it started getting into the garage. Stuff was getting wet, and we had to move stuff around, and I was worried it was going to get into the house too,” said Gibbs.

Enough that they said they have called the county to complain countless times over the last few years.

“He said it drains into an area where the pipes are too small for a connection, and he said it was easy enough. All we have to do is get a bigger connection in there,” said one man.

“I’m almost 70 years old, and I’ve had back surgery here within the last year, and I’m out there sandbagging in a hurry. I’ve got it down to a science, so it only takes me about 20 minutes now but yesterday I still had 6 inches of water against my garage door,” explained the man.

People in the neighborhood said they always have to use sandbags to cover their entrances for their front doors and garages; even if it’s only a few inches of rain, flooding still occurs.