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JOSH ZIMMERising waters cause a delay in finishing a dam project at Lake Armistead and Rocky Creek.
ODESSA - Lake Armistead homeowners wanted a steady supply of water. But this?
Residents are reeling from flooding created by unseasonably high rains and a long-awaited dam construction project. While water levels are down from their high point several weeks ago, water continues to inundate back yards on all sides, separating many people from their docks and boats - unless wading is considered an option. Some can't even walk the perimeter of their houses without getting wet.
"You can see their benches now," said Chastain Road resident Judy Giocondo, pointing to her next-door neighbor's half-submerged dock gazebo. "It was like you were so disoriented."
Rising waters recently forced the Southwest Florida Water Management District to delay completion of a $60,000 dam project where Lake Armistead releases into Rocky Creek. Now the district is looking at spending another $40,000 on pumps and other equipment until the water recedes enough to finish the structure.
Actually, the current structure is holding back more water than intended, said project manager Adam Munson. Once the cement is poured into the metal frame, the dam will be 1.2 feet lower than at present.
After years of fielding complaints from homeowners about low water, the district agreed to build a dam in hopes of keeping more water within the relatively shallow lake.
Despite frustration throughout the neighborhood, the current situation shows the dam should work, Munson said. It was designed to hold water in, not compensate for unusually heavy rains, he said.
He tried explaining what happened in a letter he drafted this week to residents.
"You can say the temporary structure has kept water in Armistead, albeit a little high," Munson said. "None of the houses actually flooded. We hope they don't. I don't think they will."
Teresa Hulslander would dearly love to believe that. She wants to host her daughter's wedding reception in her backyard off Hammock Woods Drive. From vantage point of her living room, it's hard for her to picture that blissful scene taking place. She can't decide whether to book a reception hall and risk losing the deposit if enough shoreline reappears.
"It's never been this high," she said.
Otherwise, Hulslander supports the dam project, though she has other concerns.
One is safety. She recently chased away some curious youngsters getting an up-close look at the rushing waters. She also hopes the water on Armistead won't rise even higher as the district releases water from Lake Pretty, which is a couple feet above its historical average. Pretty, a much bigger body of water located to the northwest, is separated from Armistead by a district-operated lock structure.
Munson doesn't think that will be a problem because the district intends to relieve Pretty in conjunction with Armistead, he said.
Only the weather will determine when the district can complete the dam, Munson said. Planners were thrown off by the amount of rainfall when they began the project in May, and the heavy rains could easily continue for several months.
In the meantime, the pumps are removing thousands of gallons per minute. The district is about to add a third.
"We don't want to look back and say we didn't do everything we could have done," Munson said.
- Josh Zimmer covers Keystone/Odessa, University North and Citrus Park. He can be reached at 269-5314 or zimmer@sptimes.com