DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Leaders across Volusia County met to share how flooding is being addressed in each city.
One area where solutions are still up in the air is the Midtown neighborhood in Daytona Beach.
We told you on May 7th that the federal government said there was no cost-effective option to stop the flooding in Midtown.
During the meeting on Thursday, city leaders shared a new set of solutions that include working with the county instead of the federal government.
“So they’re doing a model working with them for possibly a regional project with the other sister cities,” said Utilities Director Shannon Ponitz.
We asked if there was anything that could be done more immediately.
“We are doing maintenance, our crews are out every day cleaning pipes, inspecting pipes, cleaning our ditches,” said Ponitz.
Every city faces different issues, from aging infrastructure to poor maintenance. Volusia County Emergency Management Director Clint Mecham said finding out where problems are ahead of the rainy and hurricane seasons should help prevent daily flooding.
“If we get 7 inches of rain in 30 minutes, that could present a problem. So, we’ve been doing everything we can to communicate that with our municipal partners, and they’ve been doing everything they can to get their storm drains cleaned out, get their drainage systems cleared out,” said Mecham.
In Midtown, one option suggested by the federal government was to buy out everyone in their homes and turn the area into a giant dam. City leaders said they’re not giving up that easily.
“I hope eventually, by working with the state and the county, we will be able to come up with something to help them,” said Commissioner Stacy Cantu.
We are asking FDOT whether the Nova Canal, which runs through Midtown, will be cleaned before hurricane season.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.