The Crooked Lake Park Sewerage Company, which operates a wastewater utility in the neighborhood between US 27 and Crooked Lake, suffered repeated sewer overflows in the summers of 2019 and 2020. These overflows resulted in raw sewage discharging directly into canals on Crooked Lake.
In 2019, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) filed an injunction in civil court to force the company to prepare a long-term plan for repairing the system. In October 2020, FDEP decided to pursue the matter as a criminal case, charging the owner, Louis Garrard, with 15 felony counts. Mr. Garrard is set to be arraigned in December.
In September 2020, County Manager Bill Beasley received a letter from an attorney representing Crooked Lake Park Sewerage, stating their intention to abandon the system, which would result in a receivership judge assigning the system to a new owner, such as the County. In October, the County recieved additional correspondence delaying the abandonment while the current owner pursues a sale of the utility to another private company.
In the meantime, the current owner continues to make repairs to the system, including excavation and repairs to the lift station near Canal Drive.