Excess flooding threatens safety of Miller Lake community of Orange City

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Excess flooding threatens safety of Miller Lake community of Orange City
BEACON PHOTO/MORGAN RYAN; DISPLACED COUNCIL — The Orange City Council met at Orange City United Methodist Church on Oct. 22 after the City Hall Annex building suffered severe flooding following Hurricane Milton.

BY MORGAN RYAN

Residents of an Orange City neighborhood are in an uproar as rising floodwaters following Hurricane Milton continue to threaten their property — and their personal safety. 

Over a dozen members of the neighborhood surrounding Miller Lake took to the stand at the Orange City Council meeting Oct. 22 to protest the use of their land as a dumping ground for excess floodwater.

Members of the community believe that private businesses near Miller Lake are draining the water from their properties via a pipe that connects the lake to their land. Multiple residents reported seeing the pipe continually dump water into the lake since Hurricane Milton, despite water levels already being well over the normal amount due to the excess rain.

City Manager Dale Arrington said that the neighborhood along Miller Road is outside of Orange City’s jurisdiction, meaning there is nothing the city can do to help them stop the flooding. 

The residents argued that while they may not be under the city’s jurisdiction, the businesses they believe to be causing the flooding are, and they should be held responsible for threatening the property and safety of the people who live nearby.

“I get that it’s unincorporated, but my address is still Orange City, Florida,” said Catherine Levinson, one of the homeowners in the Miller Lake neighborhood. “That’s why I’m here tonight, because I need help.”

Many people reported that they have major difficulties accessing their homes due to the flooding and excessive damage to the roads in their neighborhood. 

Residents reported water levels being 3 to 4 feet high in some places, making it nearly impossible to access the main road from their homes.

They have resorted to alternate routes and modes of transportation, including boats and lifted trucks.

Hope Noga, who lives on Miller Road and serves as assistant principal of Pride Elementary School, said she has to walk through the woods to access her car so she can get to work in the morning.

“When the road started flooding, I moved my vehicle out of the area,” Noga said. “I walk through the woods at 6:30 in the morning, and then at night I park my car and walk back home.”

The county is currently working toward creating a makeshift road with asphalt millings to allow easier access to the homes on Miller Lake, but there are currently no plans to pump out the continually rising water.

Several members of the Miller Lake community said that when they bought their homes, they weren’t considered to be in a high-risk area for flooding, but now the excess water is reaching their back doors.

Noga closed her statement to the council by informing them that neither she nor her neighbors have flood insurance. 

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