'It's going take a while': Army Corps says it could take 25-30 days to lower flooded Lake Bonny

A series of constraints and challenges means it could take 25 to 30 days to lower the water level of Lake Bonny and alleviate localized flooding.

Jud Kneuvean, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operation chief for Sarasota's emergency field office, stood on the shores of Lake Bonny in Lakeland surveilling the industrial pumps with staff from the Southwest Florida Water Management District on Monday morning.

"We're lowering the water level about one-tenth of a foot a day, and we want to drop it 3 to 4 feet is still the plan," he told The Ledger. "It's going to take a while."

Shortly before the Army Corps pumps arrived, Lake Bonny was measured at 133.24 feet in elevation on the morning of Oct. 23. Since then, the lake's level has dropped less than half a foot with both the city-owned pump and two industrial pumps from the Army Corps running 24/7.

Here's a daily measure of Lake Bonny's water elevation each morning dating to Oct. 21, as measured by the City of Lakeland:

• Oct. 21: 133.34 feet
• Oct. 22: 133.3 feet
• Oct. 23: 133.24 feet
• Oct. 24: 133.16 feet, U.S. Army corps start running two pumps
• Oct. 25: 133.08 feet
• Oct. 26: 132.98 feet
• Sunday: 132.88 feet

Based on the current pace, Kneuvean estimated it will take 25 to 30 days to drop Lake Bonny's water level and alleviate localized flooding that has forced residents out of their homes.

"We thought we could do it in a week," he said. "It's probably going to take 25 to 30 days."

Two industrial water pumps arrived on the north shore of Lake Bonny about 8 p.m. on Oct. 22. Kneuvean confirmed the two pumps have a maximum capacity of approximately 4,000 gallons per minute. Each pump is attached to about 3,000 feet of piping leading to a Lakeland stormwater sewer that flows into Lake Parker.

"It's flowing fine, but there are a lot of constraints," Kneuvean said. "From here [Lake Bonny] to the point it's going into the storm sewer is about 3,000 feet. That's a long way to pump efficiently."

When asked if the pumps were working at capacity, Kneuvean said, "not anywhere near capacity."

Over the past six days, the Army Corps and its joint partners, including the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Polk County and the City of Lakeland, have run into numerous challenges.

On Monday morning, crews had to replace a section of pipeline that had developed a tear, Kneuvean said. They had previously attempted to repair it unsuccessfully.

The Army Corps is using a flat, flexible pipeline on the far end of the line leading into the stormwater sewer, Kneuvean said. That pipe has a different type of connector on it, which caused some early issues, and some of the connectors needed to be replaced. Another section of pipeline had to be cut and removed as it developed a defect.

"Every day there's a small hiccup," he said. "We are talking about heavy equipment that gets wear and tear on it."

There have also been several issues with residents caught attempting to drive their cars over the pipes, despite the road closures.

Lakeland has announced the following road closures while the pumping efforts are underway:

• East Main Street at Elgin Road east to Interlachen Parkway.
• Elgin Street, the entire length.
• North Fern Road, from Elgin Street to Alicia Road.
• North Gary Road, from Rose Street to East Magnolia Street/East Gary Road.

Residents who visit the pumping site on Bonny's north shore might be surprised by the quiet environment.

"The pumps are not super loud," Kneuvean said. "They are not being run at full tilt because we cannot pump that much water because of constraints."

The Army Corps had brought in two additional pumps as of Monday morning, Kneuvean said, in case the first set goes down or faces operational difficulties and needs to be switched out.

The combined crews are visiting flooded communities on the south end of Lake Bonny daily, Kneuvean said. The Army Corps is considering bringing a full-time staff member to Lakeland to monitor the flooding issues at Lake Bonny and Lake Seward, a flooded area in unincorporated Lakeland off of County Road 540A.

While the Army Corps is not yet involved in remedying Lake Seward, Kneuvean said they are monitoring the situation in case a request comes in for aid.

As to whether there's hope Lake Bonny's water level can be lowered any quicker, Kneuvean seems doubtful.

"The rate seems to be fairly constant, and we'll keep checking it," he said. "If we see improvement, we'll be pretty fortunate. I suspect it's going to stay about one-tenth of a foot per day.