Residents in Deltona dealing with smelly floodwater
It has been nearly a week since Hurricane Ian swept through Central Florida, and yet people in Deltona are still dealing with flooding.
“Everything that the water touched. It’s ruined,” said Lisandra Acevedo.
Wednesday was the first day she was able to get back inside her home without water everywhere. But as she walked inside, she wore a mask because the smell was overwhelming.
“It’s the sewage,” Acevedo said. “It came through the shower.”
Even folks who did not have floodwater seep into their homes said the stench wafts throughout the entire neighborhood along State Route 415 and Fort Smith Boulevard.
“You probably smelled that really noxious, disgusting smell. We actually are on septic here as many of the residents of Deltona are,” said resident Nick Lulli.
The city of Deltona set up pumps to move the floodwater that is still pooling in the neighborhood streets.
“A city of Deltona stormwater retention pond staged up and surged out into our community,” Lulli said.
Lulli said he reached out to city leaders.
Mayor Heidi Herzberg told WESH 2 News that they are looking into how and why this happened. She said they are also looking into ways to prevent this in the future.
“We got two brand new homes here. One of which has severe damages. And another one that almost had severe damages,” Lulli said.
Meanwhile, floodwater is still coursing through other areas of Deltona, specifically in neighborhoods along Lake Sixma.
Deltona got 20 inches of rain last month. The city said a storm like Hurricane Ian only happens once a century. And if more rain comes, the flooding will get worse.
“The only prayer we’ve got now is no more rain and hopefully none of those other storms come in,” said resident Gary Rudolph.