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Cape Coral resident worry over standing water

Posted at 11:18 PM, Jan 29, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-29 23:18:34-05

Kevin Wolfe says he's named his backyard; It's better known as the Cape Coral river. He tells me him and his family are using humor as they figure out how to solve a problem that isn't all that funny.

"We've gotten standing water of 11 inches deep in the backyard," Wolfe said.

He says every time it rains, it floods, leaving him to use a pump to bring down the water in his yard. Wolfe has been living in the same home for the past 23 years. He suspects new homes that were built around his were built higher than his, creating flooding problems.

He says it takes weeks for the water to drain completely. He tried reaching out to code enforcement to see if they could help but they closed his case.

FOX 4 reached out to a spokesperson with the city of Cape Coral to see how they can help.
Spokesperson Connie Barron with the City of Cape Coral did some research to try to figure out the problem.

"It could be that there's some kind of reverse grade in the back where his house is, so that the water instead of flowing that way theres some reverse grade that's keeping the water there," Barron said.

Barron says it's the responsibility of homeowners to take care of water that falls on their property to get it to flow to the swale, but if the problem is the city's responsibility, it could take a while to fix.

"it could take a few months because we are always doing storm water improvements," Barron said. "We are always addressing swales and other improvements."

Barron adds the city will help in any way they can. Meanwhile. Wolfe says he's going to make the best of it until it gets fixed.

To report any concerns, you are encouraged to call the Citizens Action Center at 239-574-0425.