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Crews in Seminole County work to clean up tons of hurricane debris from waterways

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — Contractors are working to clear debris from waterways around the Little Wekiva River.

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Seminole County Watershed Management was awarded millions in a grant to clean areas hit hardest by hurricane Ian last fall.

The cleanup comes as another hurricane season is ongoing.

The Little Wekiva River flooded dozens of homes and destroyed properties due to Hurricane Ian.

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The work being done is two-fold. Crews are removing down trees and debris, and they are also reinforcing banks that eroded away.

Seminole County was awarded an $11 million grant to clean up 13 waterways and eight erosion control projects.

The last time the county did work like this was in 2018, but not on this scale.

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This time, they estimate they have about 28 miles of river and banks to clear and an estimated 12,000 tons of debris to remove.

The county decided to start with Little Wekiva River because it impacted the most people.

Work will begin on additional waterways in unincorporated Seminole County in the coming months.

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If all goes as planned the debris removal will be done by the end of the year.

See more in the video above.

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