Officials say rain, pipe blockage led to flooding in Orange County neighborhood

ORLANDO – As heavy rounds of rain fell on much of Central Florida, one Orange County neighborhood was weary after 4-6 inches of rain flooded out roads in the Goldenrod area Wednesday night.

Orange County officials say Public Works crews have been diligently working to get the stormwater system working the way it should to alleviate the impacts from the flooding.

In the Roanne Drive retention pond, county officials said they’ve been able to clear a blockage in an underground pipe that feeds into it, which had caused water levels to rise.

Julie Forkenbrock and Paul Widows are both residents near the Forest Lakes and Lake Pearl area. They say the recent flooding reminds them of the flooding they experienced during Hurricane Ian.

“Everybody is very concerned," said Forkenbrock. "Everyone came out last night and was kind of surveying the damage.”

Both say flooding in the area is not common when it rains.

“It’s engineered really well — we have lakes to put the water into, but obviously you have to have underground pipes that connect into the lakes and that’s where the problem is in the older part of the neighborhood right now,” said Widows.