‘Don’t let us keep losing everything we got’: Residents concerned over Peace River flooding

BARTOW, Fla. (WFLA) — Emotions are running high for folks living along the Peace River in Polk County.

Many residents believe the river is close to overflowing and threatening their homes.

“If the water just keeps getting too high, we’re out of here,” Felix Atkinson said back in 2022.

One week later, Hurricane Ian hit, leaving Atkinson packing up his life in a canoe.

But he recovered, with thousands of dollars and eight and a half months worth of work.

Now, almost two years later, Atkinson is sounding the alarm again.

“Something else needs to be done with this park if they’re going to leave it there,” he said. “Don’t let us keep losing everything we got.”

Bartow Fire Chief Jay Robinson said, the Peace River is at the ‘action stage,’ sitting at 7.6 feet.

That’s 3 feet over what the river was at before Hurricane Ian hit.

“If we were to see that 6-foot increase now with it at 7-foot, it would put it at an all time historical crest at over 13 feet,” Robinson said.

Now, dozens of residents want to know: what plan is in place if that were to happen?

“We would set up what we call a no notice shelter,” Robinson said.

He said the American Red Cross would be at the Carver Recreation Center in Bartow within four hours with a 100-person trailer.

Other concerns surrounded the wastewater treatment plant.

“If those floodwaters collide with our water treatment plant, we’ve got a problem,” Bartow City Manager Mike Herr said.

So what’s being done to ensure that doesn’t happen?

“In the coming days, they’ll be building a berm that hopefully will be a portion of the long term plan of safeguarding that regional wastewater treatment plant,” Robinson said.

If you live in Bartow and still have questions, please call the appropriate contact below.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.