SANFORD, Fla. — Downtown Sanford businesses have dealt with flooding and sewage issues for years, leaving owners and employees frustrated over the loss in revenue when they are forced to close. 

What You Need To Know

  • Downtown Sanford businesses frustrated with continuous flooding issues

  • Sanford Mayor Art Woodruff says they are working on solutions to help fix the problem

  • Woodruff says the city recognizes that this is a burden for downtown businesses and takes responsibility

The Sanford Brewing Company recently had to close during peak hours and call in employees early to help clean up the flooded restaurant.

Employee Jaycie Majcher said the whole brewery was under water and that it’s not the first time this has happened.

“From the front door to the back bay, and our whole brewery was under water,” Majcher said. “Just because it’s not the first time. It's happened multiple times, especially since hurricane and heavy rain, so I just kind of anticipated the worst and it was pretty bad.”

Flooding has been an ongoing problem for the business since it opened seven years ago.

Owner Chris Esser said every time the business floods, it is forced to close its doors and employees must clean up the mess as a team. He said that’s $5,000 to $7,000 they lose out on.

For Majcher, that means hers tips for the day are gone. 

“We don’t make any money because we’re too busy cleaning, and then by the time four o’clock comes around, your shift is ending and someone else is coming in," she said. "So point blank, it affects our livelihood, but it also affects the business and our revenue and keeping our doors open.”

Sanford Mayor Art Woodruff said the original sewage system was installed 20 years ago, and it just can’t keep up, especially since downtown Sanford has grown significantly over the years.

Woodruff said with a vacuum system installed downtown during heavy rain, infiltration overwhelms the system and sewage stops flowing. But he said the city has a new solution he hopes will fix the problem.

“To move the larger users like Hollerbach, Sanford Brewing Company and Duffys, which are the three that have issues on a repeated basis, we’re moving them off the vacuum sewer system," Woodruff said. "That design is 90% complete. It’s an incredibly slow process. It could be another year before we start construction.”

Woodruff said the city has made updates to the aging system, the most recent three months ago, but the problem still exists.

Majcher suggested taking proactive measures to prevent the restaurant from flooding before heavy rain. 

“Pumping the sewer and everything, because I think that’s a big preventive measure so that we don’t get so backed up. Because if it’s already backed up by the time it’s raining, then most of the time it can avoid that,” Majcher said.

Woodruff said the city recognizes that this is a burden for downtown businesses and takes responsibility.

He said they are looking at ways to help provide some sort of financial relief for businesses when this happens.