VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Eyewitness News is taking you for a ride with Edgewater’s mayor to see what improvements have been made to the city’s infrastructure this year.
Last fall, we showed you flooded roads and properties during afternoon rainstorms, a problem only made worse by Hurricane Milton.
From widening retention ponds to clearing culverts and armoring canals, crews are clearly doing all they can to keep water flowing.
Mayor Diezel Depew explained that infrastructure problems have piled up over the past twenty years. Then, in 2022, Hurricane Ian brought historic flooding, which further damaged the city’s systems.
“We had to shut this whole entire facility down and we had millions, if not hundreds of thousands of gallons of raw sewage pumping into the city of Edgewater,” said Depew.
Since then, the city has been working on longer-term solutions, like building a new public works facility. However, he said, after rainstorms flooded roads and properties last year, he knew they had to move faster.
A significant part of the immediate plan was to help water flow from Duck Lake. The mayor said it fills up and pours into neighborhoods but soon it will have an outfall pipe.
Allison Roberts is transforming her property to make it more flood-resilient. So far, she’s cleared debris and pulled stumps.
“We are going to have a drain back here that drain is going to go to the culvert and once it reaches the culvert the rest is the city’s responsibility. So, I just want to see that something is being done. I am doing my part,” said Roberts.
Depew said the missing piece is a stormwater master plan. One is in the works, but it will be finished in December.
“It will tell us exactly what we have to do, when we have to do it and how much it’s going to cost,” said Depew.
We asked Depew if he thinks the work done so far this year will make the city more resilient during this hurricane season.
“Absolutely, I think we will be more resilient. Is it enough to stop all flooding? No, I am not confident enough to make that statement,” said Depew.
He added the city did much better during Milton compared to Ian and he hopes that trend continues.
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