BARTOW, Fla. — The City of Bartow is under a local state of emergency as they nervously watch water rising along the Peace River.
There is concern not just for dozens of homes as the river reaches flood stage, but also for Bartow's water treatment plant — which, if inundated, could impact the entire city.
Nearly a week and a half after Debby dumped rain on the state of Florida, the impact from the storm is still being felt downstream.
“I'm scared. I'm really scared,” said Felix Atkinson.
Atkinson, who lives in the Peace River Mobile Home Park off Highway 60, says he has been through storm-related floods before and is worried he may have to go through it again.
“Anybody that lives here if they're not, they're pulling your leg,” he said. “I mean it's for real.”
Water on the nearby Peace River is rapidly rising, which led the City of Bartow to declare a local state of emergency on Tuesday.
Workers have since been visiting communities like Atkinson’s distributing flyers and warning residents of what's heading their way.
“When you walk out there you can see that the river has come up pretty significantly,” he said.
“Last year when the hurricane came, the water came up to here during the flood,” said Atkinson’s neighbor, Jesus Santiago. “To get up here, I had to get a little paddleboat to come up here. Because we couldn't even get vehicles out here.”
“You know, Florida has had a history of water moving south. So, we just happen to be in the way,” said Bartow’s Fire Chief Jay Robinson.
Chief Robinson says they're also concerned about the city's wastewater treatment plant.
By declaring a state of emergency, it freed up money to build a temporary berm around the facility as they did during Hurricane Ian.
If water does breach the plant — he says it could be disastrous.
“If you can't process it, you can't take it in,” Chief Robinson said. “So, it would then follow up into people’s homes, into the streets and create a health hazard.”
Bartow Emergency management workers say they have also been in touch with communities upstream. They believe some of the excess water they've seen in the Peace River is the result of massive water releases at places like Lake Hancock to their north.
City officials say the Peace River is approaching a level of 8 feet. And that's where they become concerned.
Robinson says most of what they're doing is proactive — that there is no imminent threat as of Wednesday. But they plan to hold a community meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday night at the Carver Recreation Center.
Robinson says that's when residents will get a status update and more information about plans in place if the water continues to rise.
“Every day that we wake up, just praying,” Atkinson said. “That the water stays back.”