Homeowners seek answers following I-4 pond’s failure
FDOT draws ire after breach from Irma’s rains led to flooding
Seminole County residents whose homes were flooded from an Interstate 4 retention pond blown out by Hurricane Irma’s rains say they have been further traumatized by the state Department of Transportation’s indifference.
The three-acre pond — which sits just east of I-4 and north of State Road 434 — was in a “temporary” construction condition when it breached, according to the state Department of Transportation
The retention pond collects rain runoff from the interstate and apparently was the only such pond that broke open along the 21-mile reconstruction of the interstate through Central Florida.
Now, Dan and Ashley Kinchen, along with their five children, find themselves, more than a month later, unable to return to the dream home they purchased a year ago on Lake Oaks Boulevard near Longwood.
“We are completely homeless,” said Ashley Kinchen as she walked in front of her flooded yard on Friday morning. “We’ve been having to move from our families’ homes to friends’
“Someone needs to do the right thing. We did everything right. Now, why can’t they do what’s right?” Homeowner Karen Blaydes
houses.”
In all, eight properties in the area were affected by the flooding, including two homes that are now uninhabitable.
Asked Friday if DOT was taking responsibility, the agency’s manager for the I-4 job said “not necessarily.”
“We are still researching, pulling all of our facts together about what happened,” Loreen Bobo said, adding the she did not know how long the factfinding would take.
DOT officials say they met several times with residents, including a meeting on Sept. 29, to see how they can be compensated with temporary housing and in the long term.
“We are working diligently to meet short-term and long-term needs of the affected residents,” DOT spokesman Steve Olson said. “We were in contact with residents just a few days after the storm.”
Inside Kinchen’s nowvacated home, the hardwood floors are warped from water damage. Crack lines have formed on the walls and ceiling. She points to brown lines about 2 feet above the garage floor that show how high the water rose.
As Hurricane Irma approached Central Florida on Sept. 10, a river of water began flowing from the retention pond, Ashley Kinchen said.
Throughout the night, her family watched as water ebbed and flowed into their garage like an ocean tide for hours.
Next door, more than 5 feet of water – as high as the kitchen counter tops – remains inside a house owned by Robert and Karen Blaydes. A soaked couch floats across the living room.
The Blaydes’ tenants fled the home – grabbing just a few clothes – as the storm raged and by the next morning, the home was badly flooded.
“This flooding was not caused by the storm,” Karen Blaydes said. “It was caused by a retention pond breach. … And I feel that they’re now using our house and land as a retention pond because they have no other place to put the water. So, in other words, they can use our land and property. But we can’t use it. … We need their water off of our property.”
Blaydes and other residents said they first called Seminole County, and were told that the floodwaters were flowing from the breached DOT retention pond. The residents then called DOT, which told them to fill out a claims form provided by a subcontractor hired by the state agency.
The homeowners met with Jay Small, a lawyer who specializes in property rights. He didn’t sign on as their attorney but helped them map a strategy.
Reached Friday in Tampa by email, Small said: “These people are really in dire straits. Some can’t live in their homes but have to make mortgage payments.”
The angry residents and homeowners went to the Seminole County Commission meeting Tuesday to plead for help.
That was followed by a showdown Wednesday at the monthly meeting of MetroPlan Orlando, which coordinates Central Florida transportation efforts.
MetroPlan is stocked with mayors and commissioners; the ensuing confrontation with DOT representatives became something of a flogging.
“The comment I get from DOT is that we are working on it,” Commissioner Bob Dallari said, adding a sarcastic note. “I’m sure that gives you a lot of warm and fuzzy.”
Seminole County Commissioner Lee Constantine appeared exasperated by DOT’s difficulty in explaining the cause of flooding.
“I can’t imagine there is any other reason other than the breach,” Constantine said. “Just drive down I-4 and you can see it.”
At one point, Kissimmee Mayor Jose Alvarez asked “who put that retention pond in?”
One of several DOT representatives answered: “I personally am not part of that and that’s what we can have the other teams …”
Dallari cut him off, saying “that’s one of the issues that the citizens are frustrated about.”
“You would think that they would have … said, ‘yes we have a problem Houston and we are now going to fix our problem,’ ” Dallari said.
With the discussion closing, Adam Lovejoy, DOT’s government-affairs liaison for the Orlando area, said his agency was trying to figure out what happened to the pond.
“… there may be, may be, other contributing factors,” Lovejoy said.
Even so, Karen Blaydes and other residents are looking for help.
“Someone needs to do the right thing,” she said. “We did everything right. Now, why can’t they do what’s right?”