For Lantana resident Mitch Freling, heavy rain or a high tide can mean waiting days for the water outside his condo to disappear.
“It rains, but when it rains, it floods, and this is what we end up with for a week until it goes away, just evaporates,” Freling said.
Freling lives near the Intracoastal Waterway, just north of the Ocean Avenue Bridge. He reached out to WPTV after years of dealing with flooding near his building, saying he wants the Town of Lantana to take another look at drainage in the area.
“High tide comes up, it floods this whole area and like, this morning it was up to the wall, but even when it's not high tide, the storm water comes out,” Freling said. “I mean, and it comes down here and fills it up the same way, but there's no way for it to get out.”
Freling said he has lived there for 16 years and believes the flooding has gotten worse.
Recent high water has him particularly concerned.
“This is the highest I've ever seen it. I gotta tell you, I mean, it went over the top of our dock,” Freling said.
He worries that if the water gets much higher, it could eventually reach first-floor units.
“Look at all the debris up against their front door, and if it gets any higher, it's going in,” he said.
Freling said he has previously asked Lantana to address the drainage near his building but was told it was on private property.
“I'd like them to at least fix this so it drains,” Freling said.
He turned to WPTV hoping to get another set of eyes on the problem.
"Please help no one is listening," said Freling in his email.
“I've reached out to Lantana before and they said that it's our problem,” Freling said. “So I just wanted to reach out to say, hey, you know, there's a problem here. You guys need to address it somehow. You gotta just look at it.”
Lantana mayor says town will look into complaint
WPTV took Freling's concerns to Lantana Mayor Karen Lythgoe.
Lythgoe said Freling's specific complaint was new to her, but she pledged to have the town look into it.
However, she cautioned that responsibility could depend on whether the drainage problem is on private property.
“If it's a private drainage issue, all we can do is make sure that the public stuff is working as designed,” Lythgoe said.
When asked what she would say directly to residents concerned about the flooding, she added, “I'd say to the residents, we'll definitely look into it, but I don't know what the situation is.”
The problem is part of a larger challenge facing the coastal community.
She said drainage systems designed years ago may no longer have the capacity communities need today.
“When you put in a drainage system, you scope it for a certain capacity,” Lythgoe said. “And then as capacity changes, you may not have the capacity that you thought you had in 2011 when you put in the system that you need now. So there's things all constantly need upkeep and maintenance.”
Town says drainage and resiliency projects are underway
WPTV previously reported on flooding concerns in Lantana two years ago, when town officials were considering drainage improvements and a fee to help pay for stormwater and other capital projects.
Lantana
Town of Lantana workshop could solve drainage concerns
Lythgoe said that stormwater utility has since been implemented.
The mayor said there are several projects underway, including raising the seawall at Bicentennial Park and a drainage project on Hypoluxo Island.
The work can be expensive and require multiple phases, she said, adding that the town is also pursuing Florida resiliency grants and state and federal funding.
“Those projects are underway,” Lythgoe said.
And the flooding is not limited to the area outside Freling's building. Lythgoe described seeing high water elsewhere around Lantana during the king tide.
“This whole parking lot was underwater when I came by to go to the Dune Deck for breakfast. The beach parking lot was underwater, and so was portions of Hypoluxo Island,” she said.
But she said some of that water later drained away.
For Lythgoe, the bigger question may be whether the town's existing infrastructure needs to be updated for the conditions Lantana is now experiencing.
“The infrastructure is working as designed,” Lythgoe said. “So do we need to change that design? I think we do.”
She acknowledged the work is far from finished.
“There's always more to be done,” Lythgoe said.
That's exactly what Freling hopes will happen outside his home.
“I'd like them to at least fix this so it drains,” he said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
