After spending over 90 minutes in a workshop, there was no agreement between the city and residents over a solution to mitigating the flood waters in the Clear Water Lake area, which impacts four local communities.

The Monday workshop at Apopka City Hall was a continued conversation of the July 16 presentation about the options presented at Clear Water Lake.

At the July 16 City Council meeting, residents from nearby Clear Water Lake subdivisions said they weren’t informed beforehand that a presentation on the options would be made at the July 16 meeting. This prompted the city to schedule the Aug. 11 workshop to revisit the options and address homeowners’ concerns.

Between growing development and heavy rainfall especially caused by hurricanes, flooding has been a persistent problem at Clear Water Lake, located off S.R. 414. The lake is private and owned by an individual named Sandra Gay Lust and three associations: Clear Lake Estates, Clear Lake Landing and the Avian Pointe Community Association. 

 “We [at] Clear Lake Estates [are] suffering because of greed all the way around the lake,” Venus Griffith, a 19-year Clear Lake Estates resident, said. “I love my neighbors, because they’re right across the street from me, right across the lake and everything. But we are suffering.”

Similar to the July 16 meeting, Vladimir Simonovski, city engineer and public works director, presented three long-term solution options the city is exploring for controlling the floodwater at Clear Water Lake.

Option 1 is to recycle surface water as an irrigation source. Option 2, which would cost $1 million, is to pump surface water to Northshore Reclaim Water Treatment Plan. Option 3, which cost $200,000 the last time it was done, is to repeat the temporary pumping whenever needed.

Simonovski said Option 1 is the best alternative solution because it imposes less stress on the city’s reclaimed water system and the Clear Lake Landing homeowners association, which owns Clear Water Lake.

The St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) approved Option 1.

Balmoral Group started the project design in April 2024 for $68,900. In January, the design was finished and permitted with the SJRWMD consumptive use permit, which allows surface water withdrawal for irrigation down to an elevation of 63 feet.

The normal water level is at an elevation of 65 feet. The Clear Water Lake elevation was 69.30 feet on July 1, 69.75 feet on July 16, and 69.58 on Aug. 8, according to Simonovski.

Construction cost of the Clear Lake Water irrigation project is estimated to be $456,000: $397,200 for construction plus $59,600 as a 15% contingency. This would result in approximately $3,000 per household at Clear Lake Landing, according to Simonovski.

To date, the Avian Pointe community contributed $60,000 to the irrigation project for support services, and the city may contribute another $60,000, leaving the homeowners association with an approximate cost of $336,000. Divided by 142 units in Clear Lake Landing, that leaves about $2,400 per household. The city’s current expense is $263,000.

Workshop participants discussed holding another workshop next month to further discuss Clear Water Lake, but they did not finalize a date.