SANFORD, Fla. — A Sanford family spent Thursday filling sandbags and moving barriers as more rain moves across Central Florida, saying water has reached their home twice in the past week.
Charles Van Zandt said water came up to the house on Sunday and again on Wednesday. He took time off work to prepare for today’s rain.
Van Zandt said the flooding comes from a drainage creek that runs through his private property, and that the runoff comes from two nearby developments, including a retention pond.
“Really, the runoff is coming from two developments, and it goes through private property and everything, comes under our property,” Van Zandt said.
“We’ve done everything that we can to address it, but at some point in time, like an individual homeowner cannot direct the flow of water that’s coming from communities,” he said.
He said he has raised the problem with the county over the past year, including with engineers who walked the creek. After the recent flooding, he messaged the project manager for the county’s Michigan Avenue drainage project.
“Essentially what was communicated to us was it’s private property and the county can’t do anything,” Van Zandt said.
Van Zandt said the family was told the Michigan Avenue project would start in late 2026.
“I mean, right now it’s October, and nothing has started,” he said.
He said a forecast of a few inches of rain means more for his family because they live downstream.
“But because we’re downstream from it, it’s amplified,” Van Zandt said.
Seminole County said in a written statement that Public Works, Roads, and Stormwater crews were on Michigan Avenue on Wednesday after being notified that water was overtopping the roadway, and that they inspected the drainage system for blockages. The county said crews regularly clear ditches and drains and spot-check for blockages during storms.
The county also said a drainage improvement project for Michigan Avenue is in the design phase.
“The project is utilizing FEMA funding to rework the ditch along the south side of Michigan Avenue to help mitigate flooding in the area,” the county said.
The county’s project page says the work includes storm drains, culverts, and ditch grading from North New York Street to North Oregon Street. The county’s statement did not address who is responsible for the drainage Van Zandt describes on private property.
More information about the project is at SeminoleCountyFL.gov/michiganave.
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