Local residents are informed of and consent to the project
By Teresa Sargeant
Reporter
The Apopka City Council unanimously approved a short-term flood mitigation solution at its meeting on Wednesday, March 5.
Da Huo, utility design manager for the city’s public service department, presented the short-term plan to pump water from Border Lake to Blue Lake in the S.R. 436/Piedmont-Wekiwa Road area. The City Council then voted 5-0 to allocate $100,000 for the project with possible cost adjustments.
According to Huo, the plan would involve four pumps operating nine hours a day, seven days a week. The project could take 52 days, potentially reduced to two and a half weeks, if 24/7 operation is allowed. The city will also watch lake levels and proper operation.
The Wekiva Village Homeowners’ Association and residents have consented to the short-term solution, and minimal pump noise control is planned, Huo said.
“We’re going to rent the quietest unit possible, and we’re going to possibly set up wood panel installation around it to reduce the noise as much as possible,” he said. “But ultimately, the plan is a plan. There’s not much we can do to avoid some minimum interruption with the residents there, but the HOA has expressed that they think this is a good plan.”
Orange County is taking care of the plan’s permitting process, which often takes 24 hours, according to Huo.
Huo said that the contractor is working on finalizing the project’s numbers.
Angelica Jones, a resident of Wekiva Village, asked the City Council for a commitment to resolving the flooding issue once and for all. Piedmont Wekiva Village is a community of 60 townhome units off Piedmont Wekiwa Road that was severely impacted by the flooding in October 2024 following Hurricane Milton.
“I just would like a commitment that this will remain a topic until what’s going to be done specifically for us is addressed,” she said. “You guys have to start with this, and I get that, but I don’t want us to be forgotten.”
The March 5 Border Lake presentation was a continued discussion of the Feb. 19 Council meeting conversation. On Feb. 19, Apopka officials, Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore and county staff discussed short-term and long-term solutions for the flooding issue among the many lakes in the area.
The Apopka Chief is an award-winning weekly newspaper serving the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923.
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