LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — The quiet, spacious lots in Lehigh Acres entice a lot of people to move here but that can cause some problems.
Lehigh resident Scott Feldkamp says, "These houses become islands because the water in the street is about 18 inches deep, and it doesn't drain properly."
In his neighborhood near Beck Street, several homes are built on wetlands and even ponds. He says when the rain moves in, streets flood.
Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District Manager Dave Lindsay says their crews see construction sites building on wetlands every day.
"Your yard is on a steep angle, so whatever rain is on that parcel now just goes right into the street," Lindsay describes.
LAMSID manages all the water ways in Lehigh which means they need to find space to move all the flooded water. They say it gets difficult to move water to wetlands when there's fewer of them.
"When you have a whole neighborhood doing that, your neighborhood is going to have some serious flooding problems," Lindsay says.
He also says building homes on wetlands means less water storage, more flooding and loss in water quality.
While it's legal to build on wetlands, contractors need a special permit.
"We fear that they're not applying for permits," Lindsay says about contractors in the area.
Fox 4's Lehigh Acres Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades reached out to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
They told her they would get back to her on the issue when they gather more information.
Lindsay says LAMSID is willing to work with FDEP to make sure proper steps are taken to build homes and protect the environment.
He's worried about what Lehigh could become, if no one does anything.
"The future of Lehigh and its environment will be pretty much denigrated," Lindsay says.
Neighbors like Feldkamp don't want to see the flooding get worse.
"Canals are put in for drainage. The whole area is basically a swamp," he says.
LAMSID recommends looking for dry property lots, and if there's cypress trees, there's a chance the property is on wetlands.
