Residents press Apopka for urgent help as Hurricane Milton flooding leaves streets, lift stations and homes at risk

Dozens of Apopka residents told the City Council on Oct. 16 that flooding and rising groundwater after Hurricane Milton left parts of Wekiva/Wakiva Village and surrounding neighborhoods with standing water that has not yet receded and in places is getting worse.

Angelica Jones, a Wakiva Village resident, described repeatedly rising water that she said had been climbing "about an inch an hour" at one point and later "about an inch a day," leaving multiple units without power and creating a risk of sewage backflow if lift stations fail. "We are not talking about a potential issue," she said. "We are talking about a real issue." (Angelica Jones observed that she and other residents had been told pumping nearby had contributed to the problem.)

Several residents produced timelines and video to show water encroaching on yards and sidewalks and reported erosion, exposed electrical boxes and a threatened lift station. Charlene Gatlin and other residents asked whether a county emergency berm proposal and other emergency measures could be implemented immediately. "If the water continues to rise, we risk the southwest side of our community ... the water will threaten to invade our homes," one resident said.

City public‑works and engineering staff explained the technical constraints: crews had deployed pumps at multiple locations in coordination with Orange County and FDOT to move water out of roadway and commercial basins, but the underlying issue includes a temporarily elevated groundwater table and full receiving water bodies. "What is happening here is not really a surface water issue," the city engineer said: "It is a groundwater issue. The groundwater is rising." Staff confirmed they had paused pumping into some retention ponds when levels rose and said drainage wells and pumps were being monitored and cleared of debris to maximize flow.

Council members and staff identified immediate, short‑term responses: distribution of additional sandbags, checking and clearing county drainage wells, and deploying vac/haul trucks as appropriate. Commissioner Nesta offered to help coordinate sandbag filling and delivery; staff asked affected residents to sign a contact sheet so the city could email an update and an action plan by the following midday.

Residents requested clearer and faster communication about who authorized pumps and where water had been routed. Several testified that the storm damage and subsequent mitigation created new, severe impacts in areas that had not flooded in prior storms. Staff acknowledged those concerns and said county, state and private pond owners would need to coordinate on long‑term fixes because some contributing retention basins are off‑site or outside the city's control.

Council accepted a $8.55 million budget amendment that includes approximately $1.7 million in estimated hurricane response expenses (staff said FEMA reimbursement is expected) and approved immediate steps to coordinate emergency mitigation for neighborhood flood threats. City staff committed to a written update to the neighborhoods by lunchtime the next day and to prioritize sandbags and drainage‑well checks while longer‑term engineering solutions are developed.