CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — Homeowners at Heritage Station off Burnt Store Road in Charlotte County tell WINK News they are dealing with frequent irrigation breaks that are causing washouts and flooding throughout their neighborhood.
Cary Stewart and Mary Clark say they’ve gotten nowhere with their builder, Maronda Homes, so they came to WINK Listens. The problems are happening multiple times per week.
“The controllers don’t work. Nothing works when it comes to water and irrigation in our neighborhood. So, if it does work, it blows up pipes,” Stewart said.
Stewart said the community experiences several breaks a week, sometimes two or three a day. She believes the entire irrigation system is faulty.
“It’s not uncommon for an area like this to be underwater for two, three, four days,” Stewart said.
The issues go beyond standing water.
“Unfortunately, one of our residents was in the area trying to find where the break was and he fell into a hole waist high,” Stewart said.
That hole remains open, marked off with caution tape. One section of road had to be repaired after a break, and the driveway of an unfinished home had several inches of standing water.
The irrigation problems are also killing landscaping. Stewart said their landscaping has died several times and had to be replaced because new homes aren’t getting watered properly.
Heritage Station is only partially built with 44 homes, but plans call for 140 to 149 homes. Clark is concerned about how the system will handle more homes.
“We’re a small development right now. We have 44 homes built. The plan originally was for 130. Now they’re saying somewhere between 140 and 149, but if the irrigation can’t handle 44 homes, how in the world is it ever going to handle three times that,” Clark said.
WINK News reached out to Maronda Homes Division President Martin Moore on Oct. 2 and Oct. 12 to ask what the company is doing to address residents’ concerns about irrigation breaks and other issues. WINK News is still waiting for answers.
Charlotte County said because the community is private and takes water from existing retention ponds, it has no jurisdiction. Clark said it’s frustrating that the county is prepared to give Maronda Homes a permit for another large development less than a mile away while Heritage Station’s problems remain unresolved.