Cape residents frustrated by inaction of city to fix flooded street

By Gabrielle Sarann

CREATED Oct. 9, 2012 - UPDATED: Oct. 9, 2012

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  • Residents along a northwest Cape street turn to Four in Your Corner for help. They're sick of their street flooding every time it rains. Video by fox4now.com

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CAPE CORAL, Fla. -  It's been an ongoing problem for the Tates' and others on Northwest 29th Terrace. When it rains, it floods and with that they say comes a fear of getting sick from staid water. 

Whenever there are downpours...

"We have lakeshore property," said Sharon Tate.

Their quiet, Cape Coral street floods.

"We're trapped," added Jim Tate.

The Tates' home becomes surrounded by water in the grass, on the road even swishing up to their driveway. 

"It has to have germs and you know sanitary conditions, make you sick," said Sharon.

The Tates' and their neighbors are fed-up with this flooding year-after-year.

"It looks like it's going to be an ongoing thing til something's repaired," said Jim.

So, Fox 4 took their concerns to City Hall. 

"What do you say to residents who feel this is just not getting fixed fast enough?" asked Fox 4 reporter Gabrielle Sarann to Mike Ilczyszyn, a business manager, with the city. "What we're doing through this master plan is the most comprehensive approach," he replied.

Ilczyszyn says that plan involves adding to or enlarging a drainage pipe under nearby Freedom Acres. Then, working out a way to stop water from rushing down from Charlotte County. A project still in the works.

"Until the entire problem is fixed, could that be years?" asked Sarann. "Until we correct the sheet flow issue coming into the city that could be years," replied Ilczyszyn.

City officials will present the master plan to council in the next few months, and hope to have the drainage pipe in place this time next year. They say that should provide relief to residents in the northwest Cape.