Residents along the St. Johns River and Lake Harney are concerned that water levels are too high and more rainfall could lead to flooding.
Lake Harney lakefront resident Barry Rowe said the water level is never this high during a year without a hurricane.
"Nowhere for the rain to go even as we exit the rainy season," Rowe said.
Last year, right before Hurricane Irma struck Central Florida, the water level in Lake Harney was much lower than it is right now.Â
"So I think that's what some people are fearful of," Rowe said. "Another one or two of those direct hits and then we can't even enjoy living out here."
On Tuesday, docks, decks, yards and driveways along Lake Harney, fed by the St. Johns River, are underwater.
"When the water's on this driveway there was a 3-foot gator every single day that when you came down the driveway I'd look at him like, 'What are you doing here?' and he'd look at me like, 'What am I doing here?'" Rowe said.
Other residents have complained about snakes in the swampy area that the high water has created in their yards and driveways.
Recent relentless rainfall has pushed the river and lake level to near flood-stage and caused flood alerts, launch ramp closures and no-wake zones.
The St. Johns River flows north and also feeds Lake Monroe in Sanford and Lake Jessup near Winter Springs, which are also at unusually high levels.
Rowe said the past few weeks of rain brought nervous nights.
"Just hope the water hasn't crept up another few inches or a foot," Rowe said. "That's when you look out the window in the morning."
After Hurricane Irma last year, water swept into homes along Lake Harney and made adjacent roads impassable for almost two months.
Some residents said the water should have gone down faster and shouldn't have risen as much as it did this year despite the recent rainfall. They suspect something -- development, construction, and/or drainage -- has changed along the St. Johns River and is causing the unusually high water levels.
Last week, residents met with Seminole County Public Works engineers and Seminole County Commissioner Bob Dallari.
Seminole County Roads-Stormwater engineer Owen Reagan said the county is doing elevation studies to look at drainage and river flooding.
"We agreed to have a follow-up meeting in about a month to bring back the information and update the residents on the status of the engineering data currently being collected and analyzed for possible improvements," Reagan said.