Cape Coral residents say streets still flood after $33K utility project

CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK)—Residents in one Cape Coral neighborhood say a major utility project came with a major price tag but not the improvements they were expecting.

After paying tens of thousands of dollars through the city's Utility Expansion Project, some homeowners say their streets are still flooding after heavy rain. Many of the neighbors feel the city could be doing more to maintain these neighborhoods.

After just one hour of heavy rain Sunday evening, Tim Schulte says his street looked more like a canal. This was the first major rain event since construction wrapped up in his neighborhood.

"Nothing had changed, I was like, nothing, nothing, nothing's changed. It's, it's still the same. I mean, we could have just stayed the way we were, and everybody would have been just fine. Nothing, nothing's changed," Schulte said.

Despite paying roughly $33,000 in assessments for the Utility Expansion Project, Schulte still saw more than a foot of standing water outside his home. The city says the UEP is designed to bring water, sewer and irrigation services to areas that previously didn't have them, not to address stormwater flooding.

"They were gonna put the kayaks and float down the road. She could have done it," Schulte said.

City officials also say what some neighbors described as sewage bubbling into the street was likely stormwater coming up through drains, which can happen during heavy rain. Cape Coral says during the rainy season, standing water can remain for up to 72 hours as canal levels recede.

"I think that for the price that we pay, we deserved a little bit better," Schulte said.

Neighbors say they hope city leaders take another look before the rainy season and hurricane season ramp up.