DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – Several residents in Deerfield Beach are disappointed and picking up the pieces after the drainage project the city promised would mitigate flooding in their neighborhood failed over the weekend.
“The water was rising pretty quickly,” said Jackie Campbell, a resident. “But I’ve never been in a situation where water has come into my house from the rain.”
That all changed for Campbell and several of her neighbors after several inches of rain fell over three hours across Deerfield Beach, causing her neighborhood near Southeast Eighth Avenue to be completely flooded.
Campbell was even forced to move her young daughter from her bed as water crept into every room of her home.
“Which was very traumatic, she was crying, asking if we were going to drown,” said Campbell.
Days later, with fans constantly running and several floors and sections of dry wall ripped out, she didn’t think her situation could get worse until she went to take a shower, Wednesday morning.
“I took a shower and very shortly thereafter every one of my bathrooms filled with several inches of sewage,” said Campbell.
Photos provided to 7News by Campbell show what the bathrooms looked like before and after being swamped with sewage.
“I didn’t even really know what to think,” said Campbell.
It’s been a rough week for her and her neighbors, with piles of ruined belongings stacked up outside multiple homes.
Many of those residents said what makes this worse is a multi-million dollar city drainage project that lasted most of the year was supposed to mitigate flooding in their area.
“The majority of the project was right here in this area, on my block specifically,” said Zac Ulrich.
Ulrich told 7News the neighborhood flooded out five years ago, which sparked the city’s project, and left neighbors optimistic that it wouldn’t happen again.
Pictures provided by Ulrich showed the entire inside of his home filled with water, Sunday night.
“Insurance can only cover so much, you know, the heartache and what it’s put us all through,” said Ulrich. “The heartbreak is just profound.”
The City of Deerfield Beach says they are working on figuring out what went wrong with the drainage system in the neighborhood, whether the failure was due to excessive rainfall exceeding the project’s threshold, or if the system’s construction or functioning failed in some way, if there was any maintenance issues or if any other factors like blockages, debris or sedimentation played a role.
A spokesperson for the city shared a statement regarding residents’ heartache:
“We know how disruptive and emotionally stressful flooding can be, and we are committed to partnering with the neighborhood to provide the answers and solutions they deserve.”
Meanwhile, Campbell and her neighbors recognize their lives won’t be returning to normal any time soon.
“I don’t think I even have words to describe how disruptive this is honestly,” said Campbell. “This new issue happened and we’re back to square one.”
Officials for the City of Deerfield Beach also addressed Campbell’s circumstances specifically, saying they currently believe what happened at her property may be an isolated incident. They went on to say it could be related to the recent flooding, but it will be something she has to continue working through.
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