Florida woman faces lawsuit, code violation after filling storm drain with concrete, court records show

Woman faces lawsuit, code violation over storm drain

People living in the ShadowBay neighborhood of Longwood say this week marked the third time the streets have flooded like this in just the past few weeks. Now, one neighbor could wind up owing thousands of dollars because of it.

LONGWOOD, Fla. - People living in the ShadowBay neighborhood of Longwood say this week marked the third time the streets have flooded like this in just the past few weeks. One neighbor could wind up owing thousands of dollars because of it.

Those residents say this problem is entirely new and traceable to one neighbor.

"I filled in the two manholes and that broken pipe because I didn't want any more erosion on my property," Diane Goglas told FOX 35 News.

In March, Goglas sent her neighbors a letter saying she believed a drain pipe was installed on her property without her permission. In the letter, she asks for compensation for water moving across her property, saying, "I advise you of this because once I close that pipe off, you will have a drain problem that will back up on the road and on your property."

In April, she sealed off the pipe. In June, neighbors started feeling the effects.

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"Now it rains, and it sits there. The water sits there; it does not drain out of the roadways, and it goes into the yards," said Sallie Spires, who lives in ShadowBay.

Goglas talked with FOX 35 about this last month but declined to interview again Wednesday, saying she’s prepping for litigation.

Court records show ShadowBay’s HOA is suing Goglas over this, and the secretary of that HOA told FOX 35 that the flooding "presents a clear threat to life and safety."

Seminole County just sent Goglas a notice of code violation, saying she has to remove the concrete and repair the existing stormwater pipe and drainage fixtures. She has until July 22nd to comply – the Monday after next. If she doesn’t, she could face fines of up to $300 a day.