Orange City Advances Stormwater Project to Combat Flooding

ORANGE CITY, Fla. – Orange City is advancing plans for a multimillion-dollar stormwater project designed to greatly improve the city’s ability to move floodwaters away from some of its most vulnerable neighborhoods. For residents who have experienced flooding firsthand, however, the key question remains: Will it be enough?

Near Mill Lake Park, heavy rain can bring far more than temporary puddles. Residents say their properties have been inundated, and they believe recent development has worsened the drainage problems in the area.

“They’re putting up new houses and stuff, and there’s a road right here that totally gets flooded,” one neighbor said.

The flooding has been a longstanding concern. When Hurricane Milton struck in 2024, water remained in homes and on streets for days, damaging roads across the surrounding communities.

[WATCH: People finally rescued from flooding in Orange City communities (from 2024)]

“Just the people going through the barricades was so frustrating. And just having it be so bad. And the poor people in the John Knox houses that it was really affecting. I felt horrible for them. So it was just bad,” said Tammy Robertson, an Orange City resident.

And residents do not need to wait for a hurricane to face dangerous flooding. Even during major rain events, the water can rise quickly, making it difficult for people like Robertson to safely leave their homes.

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Orange City and Volusia County are now developing a plan to speed up drainage. The proposed system would link existing drainage networks to a new pump station, which would send water to a city-owned property along West French Avenue. The station could move more than 33 times the amount of water handled by the current system, representing a major increase in capacity.

The improvement would come at a substantial cost. City officials are considering three construction alternatives, with estimated prices ranging from about $19 million to $27 million.

Robertson said she hopes the investment will prevent residents from experiencing the kind of destruction they have endured in the past.

“Obviously we don’t ever want that to happen again. That would be like the goal is to never see that again. It was — it was bad,” Robertson said.

The project’s final design and permitting have been completed, and construction could start as early as 2027. The final approach will depend on the construction bids and the amount of funding secured for the stormwater project.