The recent rains have been posted as a 200 year event!! Close to 13 inches of rain fell on Spring Lake and numerous roads were flooded as drainage areas and swales got overwhelmed. 

In spite of the flooding that occurred on Monday, by early Tuesday morning all roads were cleared and drainage areas began to recede. This was the result of all four pumps running constantly starting Monday morning. Up until 9:00 a.m. this morning, 725 MILLION GALLONS of water went thru the pump station!!!

While we were greatly inconvenienced during the flooded conditions, the speed in which roadways and drainage areas were cleared should make all of us thankful for the Storm Water Treatment Area (ECO Park) and the pump station. When you look at the news and see other affected cities, it will take them weeks to properly drain. There is no question that our system works.

No one anticipated this heavy rainfall, and we did not have an opportunity to lower canal levels to handle such a deluge. During past Hurricane events, most recently Irma, we were able to lower canals and not get the type of flooding we had this week. Since the golf course property is the lowest level in Spring Lake, their lands have been impacted the worst, and it will take several weeks for the fairways to drain, as their elevation is lower than the canals and the water has nowhere to go.

Many thanks to District staff who monitored the pumps 24 hours a day and assisted wherever needed, and to residents who helped keep drains free and clear of debris.

By the time all of the groundwater gets to the canals and goes thru the pump station, we are projecting that 1.5 BILLION gallons of water will be discharged by this weekend.

Highlands County has been declared an Emergency and District staff are working with County Emergency Management Staff to work on repairs and financial support.

This has been an event that will be spoken about for many years.