WILDWOOD, Fla. — Some residents in the city of Wildwood in Sumter County say they are dealing with flooding issues that have never been a problem in the past.

Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in the Big Bend area and brought rain to north Central Florida, which caused major issues for residents of Wildwood's Woodlane Meadows community.

Residents say the community is not in a flood zone, and those who have lived in the area for decades say they have never experienced flooding — not even when hurricanes Ian and Nicole hit in 2022.

Eight days after residents say they first noticed the flooding, pumps are still in place to relocate water. Residents in the community impacted by the flooding say that at one point, the road in front of their homes looked like a river.

As she started her work week, Kathi James says she thought she would get ready the morning after Debby just like any other Monday. There was a problem, though: Her home was surrounded by water.

“I called my supervisor, and I said, ‘I think I am going to be late,’” James said. “I could not see to back out. I couldn’t see the road.”

A few hours later, the water continued to rise, flooding her home and her neighbors'.

“It was frightening, because I have to unplug stuff,” James said. “I took a step to unplug the TV and I could feel a little shock, but I had to start unplugging everything.”

City officials said that until Debby, the area has not been one that has experienced flooding from heavy rain in the past. Last week, the city began pumping water from the area.

The area was so flooded, James' neighbor, Andrew Johnson, took his kayak in the road for a spin.

He’s owned his home since the 90s and says he’s never seen anything like this before. Johnson said there is only one thing that has changed recently that could explain the flooding.

“They put the Home Depot in and they built these retention ponds — which seemed like lakes from the beginning (because) they were full of water,” he said. “Not sure how a retention pond works when its full of water from the beginning.”

On Monday, city leaders voted 4-1 to reject accepting additional water from a privately owned stormwater pond nearby. In addition, the city attorney said he has been in contact with owner representatives who have raised concerns about the potential to cause additional flooding if the city’s stormwater infrastructure exceeds its capacity through private pond discharge.

The Wildwood City Commission did urge the owner of the private ponds to seek other options for water displacement. The owner of the pond now has its engineers trying to determine what went wrong and figuring out how to correct the problem.