Flood waters slowly recede in the western communities, several roads still blocked

LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. - A week after Tropical Storm Isaac caused historic flooding in many western communities throughout South Florida, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue is pulling back storm-related relief efforts due to a lower demand for assistance.

Flood waters are finally starting to slowly go down in the Loxahatchee neighborhood of Deer Run. Further back in the neighborhood though, many roads still blocked and covered with as much as 20-inches of standing water.

"It's been absolutely miserable. We're out here stranded and we know that life is going on and carrying on beyond this point," said Deer Run resident Stephanie Issac.

Issac's home has become an island. In the days following Tropical Storm Isaac, her home like countless others in the Deer Run neighborhood continue to be surrounded by feet of standing water, dead fish and even alligators.

"People can't go to work, they can't go to school and they can't go about their normal lives. People aren't getting paid for this. So we would like to start going back to out normal lives," said Issac.

And while many residents remain stranded from all of the flooding, the neighborhood is making progress.

Several pumps have been installed that the neighborhood estimates is pumping 70,000 gallons of water a minute.

Elsewhere, more North in the Acreage, flood water have dropped significantly. The peak level was visible Monday by lines of dead grass.

"I'm glad it's gone. I hope maybe they can make some kind of an arrangement with water management so that this doesn't happen again," said Greg Miller, an Acreage resident.

Miller and other residents now must clean up and wait to determine how much they really lost.

The other concern some resident have is with the dead fish that remain. A strong smell still hung in the air Monday.

Palm Beach County has hired a private company to remove dead fish from reported areas.  

The county also said if residents are concerned, they can double bag the fish and bring them to designated Solid Waste Authority locations.

They can use single bags, but must be in a container that weighs no more than 50 pounds.