Miller Lake residents finally seeing relief as neighboring city comes to assist flooded community

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Updated  November 21, 2024 11:27pm EST
FOX 35 Orlando
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Miller Lake residents finally seeing flood relief

Residents on Miller Lake in Volusia County are finally seeing some relief in the wake of Hurricane Milton. Following Milton, 5–6 feet of floodwater still inundates the Volusia County community.

ORANGE CITY, Fla. - Residents on Miller Lake in Volusia County are finally seeing some relief in the wake of Hurricane Milton.

Following Milton, 5–6 feet of floodwater still inundates the Volusia County community. The water has compromised water wells and septic tanks, forcing many from their homes. Weeks of back-and-forth between the county and Orange City led nowhere, but at a DeBary city council meeting on November 20, council members voted to help pump the water out.

"I wanted to just cry," said Miller Lake resident Catherine Levinson. "I felt myself flush; it was so amazing to see someone running to the rescue. They kind of rode in on their white horse, and really saved us, and we’re very, very grateful and very thankful to them."

DeBary city council members discussed the item, which was so last-minute, it didn’t even make it onto the meeting agenda.

"You guys have definitely made the news," said DeBary Vice-Mayor Phyllis Butlien. "Everyone, I think, in the state of Florida knows about Miller Lake."

The pump effort is a one-time agreement between DeBary, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), and Volusia County.

"I’m hoping we can give these guys some relief, so they can start living life again," said DeBary Council Member William Sell.

Two pumps now sit at a nearby retention pond owned by the FDOT. The pumps take floodwater from Miller Lake, into the retention pond, then to the DeBary Plantation Pump Station and finally to DeBary’s 60-acre borrow pit. At 25-feet deep, it can hold 500-million gallons of water, according to Carmen Rosamonda, DeBary city manager.

"They’ll move about 1 million gallons a day," Rosamonda said. "We hope with making a two or three inch difference each day, that over 7 days we can make it enough that they can restore their lives and get back and forth to the grocery store and everything else. We have the opportunity now to move the water, so that’s what we’ll do."

Levinson credited FOX 35 for putting eyes on the issue that she and her neighbors said was being ignored.

"It was because of you, Hannah, and your team," Levinson said.

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According to Levinson, one of the machines began pumping water 30 minutes after the DeBary city council vote, and after less than 24-hours, she noticed a difference.

"I would say it went down a good inch so far – a good inch," Levinson said. "Every inch counts."

Although grateful for the action, Levinson and her neighbors know this is a one-time fix, and they have proposed sealing the stormwater drainage pipe feeding water from surrounding areas into Miller Lake.

"We’re going to fight that fight, we’re going to have to figure it out, because we need a long-term solution," Levinson said. "This cannot happen every time it rains! One day at a time, one day at a time, but the fight continues."

According to Rosamonda, over the last 15 years, the city of DeBary invested $32 million into their emergency storm water system, and they are already seeing the payoff. Rosamonda said the rest of Volusia County can learn from them.

"The county is going to have to step up, and Orange City is going to have to step up and put some infrastructure in to manage the level of lake, that’s obvious," Rosamonda said. "The question is, where’s the funding going to come to do that, and where are they going to be able to move the water?"

FOX 35’s Hannah Mackenzie reached out to Volusia County council members and local leaders asking about the proposition to seal the drainage pipe under U.S. 1792. A representative responded:

"The county has no authority to block a pipe that is part of a private stormwater system that is permitted by the city of Orange City and the St. Johns River Water Management District, which have jurisdictional regulatory authority over the Royal Oak development."

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