With hurricane season underway on the first of June, Orange County is preparing for intense weather and flooding with new stormwater drainage projects, including in one flood-prone community.
The county has been working on a flood mitigation project that has improved three existing ponds around the Orlo Vista area and will add an additional pump station for the county.
Even though the three existing ponds now have more depth and capacity, the new pump will not be ready until next year. The three existing ponds can now hold ten additional feet of vertical storage. In total, the project has cost $23.2 million with the majority of funding from grants.
Mike Drozeck, the manager of the Orange County stormwater management division, said even though the pump will not be ready this year the county is working on a solution with portable pumps to help with flooding.
“We're mimicking it by bringing in these portable pumps to keep the pumps low, where we have this additional 10 to 12 feet of storage that we did not have in previous years. So, by having the portable pumps, they're going to be in effect acting like the new pumps that we're going to be constructing next year, which will be able to have a lower intake and be able to pump down to that lower elevation,” Drozeck said.
At a community meeting, Drozeck said with these precautions in place, Orlo Vista residents were more calm and confident about the upcoming hurricane season.
In 2022, Hurricane Ian brought over 13 inches of rainfall to Orlo Vista, flooding many homes in the community. The storm as well as other environmental threats resulted in the county starting construction of these drainage mitigation efforts in March of 2023. Orange County said the new pump will be able to protect against massive flooding and rainfall: 14 inches in 72 hours.
Darrell Moody, Orange County’s Public Relations and Outreach Specialist, compared the Florida peninsula to a sponge with pockets that retain water. He said that eventually all water leads to the ocean, aquifer or Everglades.
“As more open land is developed, drainage patterns may change and some connections to the aquifer or downstream areas may be impacted,” Moody said. “Current stormwater regulations are designed to minimize impacts to downstream systems. Orange County Stormwater Management is tasked with ensuring that water flows efficiently through the primary system which eventually flows to the various rivers such as the St. Johns or Shingle Creek.”
In addition to these flood mitigation efforts, Orange County enhanced its Emergency Operations Center and will be continuing to use its Help Now Mobile Resource Center during hurricane season, which hosts air conditioning, Wifi, floodlights and more to assist with people impacted by storms.
The Help Now Mobile Resource Center was used during the disaster of Hurricane Ian in Orlo Vista.
