Apopka residents losing land to flooding by Clear Water Lake

APOPKA, Fla. - Apopka residents are worried about heavy rain flooding their neighborhood. 

Around 200 homes in Clear Lake Estates and Clear Lake Landings are above the flood plain, but they are still being affected. A playground, which is on a flood plain, is underwater.

"It’s been kind of frustrating. Everybody wants lakefront property, but I don’t want lakefront property up from the back of my house," said Frank Camopiano.  He said a 7-foot alligator recently showed up in his backyard. He is concerned as flooding from Clear Water Lake keeps creeping closer to his house, like a permanent high tide. He says already lost 40 feet of land. "It’s getting frustrating because nobody’s doing nothing but pointing fingers."

"Every time it rains, I cringe," said Venus Griffith. Across the lake at Clear Lake Estates, Griffith explained how flooding is killing trees and taking away her land as well. "If we get a tropical storm or hurricane out here, I won’t have any property."

HOA presidents from both subdivisions are mad.  "This is incredibly frustrating for all of us. This is a known issue," said Alaina Faiello of Clear Lake Estates. "It's something we’ve been communicating for years back to the city and being pushed off and told that evaporation is our only option."

"We want to address their concerns. Take a look at why it’s so high. We think it has a lot to do with excessive amounts of rainfall," said Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson.

Mayor Nelson said he plans to see what’s causing the lake to flood onto residents' properties. "Orange County has a RIB – a rapid infiltration basin – on McCormick, which we want to see how much water they’re putting into the ground which would obviously raise the groundwater level."

The mayor said around 10 inches of rain have fallen this month around Lake Apopka. The monthly average is around seven inches. Residents said they plan to speak out at an Apopka City Council meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.