Peace River levels concern Bartow officials as peak of hurricane season looms

BARTOW, Fla. (WFLA) — With the peak of hurricane season approaching, city leaders in Bartow are worried about the Peace River.

Officials and the people who live near the river know what can happen.

“If we were in Ian waters right now, it’d be over our knees?” asked News Channel 8 reporter Staci DaSilva.

“No, your hip. It would be to your hip,” Felix Atkinson said.

Atkinson lives in the Peace River Village Mobile Home Park , which flooded in 2022 after a rainy summer and Hurricane Ian.

“The water was within one inch of coming in. Since then we’ve completely remodeled my house. I’m so blessed and happy that we were able to do that,” he said.

This week, a fire official knocked on his door and gave him a flyer, informing him of an upcoming emergency meeting about potential flooding on the Peace River.

It scares Atkinson.

“We would be decimated,” he said. “I mean, there’s no way that this place could stand a tropical storm or a hurricane.”

Bartow Fire Chief Jay Robinson is taking the lead on the city’s flood preparations and awareness.

As of Tuesday, he said, the river was at about 7.7 feet.

The action stage, according to the National Weather Service, is 7.6 feet.

“As we’re going into the midst of, in the peak of hurricane season, any significant afternoon storm could create us some problems both in our water plant and a couple of small communities that have had historic flooding,” Robinson said.

He said he has never seen the river this high going into the peak of hurricane season.

Robinson said a plan is in place to set up shelters for residents in flood-prone areas if heavy rainfall leads to flooding.

He said the city will also be building an earthen berm around the wastewater treatment plan to protect it from flood waters.

“It certainly would affect all of the county government that is here in town.” Robinson said “Bartow is the county seat. Everyone would be affected by that: residents, businesses, homeowners.”

While Bartow got a few inches from Hurricane Debby, the water is flowing downstream from harder hit areas.

Just up from the river, the Southwest Water Management District (SWFWMD) is releasing water through the dam at Lake Hancock.

The city of Bartow is holding a community meeting Thursday Aug. 15 at 6 p.m. at the Carver Recreation Center at 520 Herbert Dixon Blvd. to discuss the current conditions and potential impacts of Peace River flooding.

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