St. Johns River expected to rise near Lake Harney as flood risk increases

The St. Johns River is rising, and water from heavy rain to the south is flowing into Seminole County — including the area around Jolly Gator Fish Camp near Lake Harney.“It is pretty high right now, but we do have high hopes it’ll go down,” said Chelsea Davis, a waitress at the fish camp. “I don’t know if it’s gonna rain any more, but if it does, we just pray we keep it at the concrete.”The river level is expected to rise by Friday, moving from a minor flood risk to a moderate one.Davis said the water in front of the camp is usually much lower. The area is typically dry land where people unload airboats, but that hasn’t been possible for weeks. Now, the dock is partly underwater, she said.With no easy way to stop the rising water, the camp is using sandbags to help hold it back. “They really do help,” Davis said.The county has setup two locations for others looking to get sandbags.They can be found at the Boombah Sports Complex overflow lot.The address is 3325 Cameron Avenue in Sanford