The saga of Volusia County’s efforts to ease the problems of flooding in many parts of the county continues. Problems that seem to defy containment and solutions.

The story is still unfolding, as civic leaders seek ways to lessen the water woes at hand and to head off more damage and human angst.

“Our residents expect us to lead,” County Vice Chair Troy Kent said Nov. 19, after he and his colleagues had heard four hours of pleas for relief from the rising waters that have caused losses of property and taken tolls on mental health. 

The proposal for a timeout on housing construction as a step toward combating flooding prompted hundreds to attend the council meeting. Exact figures on how many spectators showed up are not available, but the crowd may have set a record. There was standing room only in the council chambers, and the training rooms in the Thomas C. Kelly County Administration Center were set up for viewing the meeting. In addition, scores of chairs were placed in front of a big-screen TV in the rotunda to accommodate those interested in the debate about a possible homebuilding moratorium. 

“There is a lot of passion and anger,” County Council Member Danny Robins said.

The “passion and anger” may not be assuaged by the comments of those who attended and spoke for the record. Rather, the hurt feelings may be understated in numbers, as Brower said the signed request-to-speak forms of more than 70 people were not given to him until very late in the meeting. The signers did not have the opportunity to speak to the council.

“I want to find out why,” Brower told The Beacon in a telephone conversation.

Had those 70 or so other would-be speakers been called to the podium, the four hours of public participation may have become six hours.

Those in the audience who did speak publicly told of anguish they would wish upon no one.

Holly Hill homeowner Tracy Anderson put her story on the record.

“I have been flooded three times. I have had to rebuild three times,” she said. 

Anderson added some new townhouses close to her home may have caused a retention pond to overflow.

“I have flooding all the way around,” she added. “I come from a time when we were responsible for our actions. … Nobody takes responsibility. … I want somebody to be responsible. … Tell everybody, ‘We’re going to put our citizens first.’”

Rousing applause followed those words.

“I was flooded up to my knees, Mr. Santiago,” Pat Joslin said, referring to conditions at her Common Ground Farm along Taylor Road, just outside the DeLand city limits. 

With her voice breaking with emotion, Joslin attributed the flooding on her property to new residential development on the city’s east side, including Victoria Trails, Victoria Reserve and Sawyer’s Landing.

“Straighten up, as my mother used to say, or I’ll take you to the woodshed.”

Shannon Krueger, who lives on the east side of DeLand, said the rules governing building and development are not heading off drainage problems.

“Clearly, the regulations do not prevent the problems we have now,” she said. “All of these things keep happening over and over again. … Think of all the people who need to have their houses fixed.”

One woman told of being displaced from her home.

“It’s still not livable. We have had to rely on friends for a place to stay,” she said, trying to choke back tears. “Do you have any idea how hopeless and helpless that makes you feel? … Please, work on the problem now … for those of us who are suffering.”

“Please, please help us,” the woman concluded.

“You’d have to deaf and dumb not to see people are suffering, Pat Nicholson told the council. 

“Look around you. You don’t need more studies,” she continued. “You should be ashamed of yourselves. Get a grip and do the right thing.”

Is there a solution?

Water, water everywhere — and not a place to put it.

As people in flood-prone areas try anew to keep their homes and other worldly goods from being ruined by escalating water levels, Volusia County officials are floating a new and drastic solution: Buy out the homes — including parts or all of neighborhoods — and lands vulnerable to flooding and turn them into stormwater ponds. That is one of the possible courses of action that may be considered.

“We know where the flooding is,” County Manager George Recktenwald said.

Recktenwald added the county may have to install “pumps and pipes to create ponds and move the water around better.”

“Water knows no boundaries,” he also said.

“If there is no place to put it, that’s when you talk about buying out neighborhoods,” Recktenwald said.

Indeed, many of the people who have shown up at council meetings to complain about flooding around and even inside their homes live in unincorporated Volusia, but they allege that new development inside neighboring cities is creating the spillover effects they experience.

“It’s not just the county, it’s the cities. Where can they put water?” County Chair Jeff Brower asked.

At Brower’s urging, the latest session of the County Council included a discussion about a countywide moratorium on new housing, but the elected body made no decision. Brower had called for a moratorium, perhaps as long as 12 months, to give local governments time to review their development standards and regulations to determine if those written standards — when followed — are actually causing or contributing to the flooding problems.

As it has been heard in prior meetings, and even before Hurricane Milton dumped some 18 inches on the county Oct. 9 and 10, the rainy summer had saturated the ground, and water from some newer subdivisions has found its way onto other properties. Brower suggested a moratorium to rethink building practices and revise faulty regulations. 

Shortly after the meeting began, Brower’s call for a moratorium became mired in debate.

“I don’t have enough information to make a decision on this,” Council Member David Santiago said.

“I would be in favor of removing that issue from the agenda and scheduling a workshop,” he added. 

That suggestion brought applause and a few “no’s” from the audience.

The idea of slating a workshop, an informal meeting of the council during which no binding action may be taken, was supported by Council Members Jake Johansson and Don Dempsey.

“To me, a building moratorium is very drastic,” Dempsey said. “I would rather put this off to a workshop.”

Brower took a hard line.

“I adamantly oppose putting this off,” he told critics. “We need to complete this item today.”

Enthusiastic applause erupted.

“There are enough people who care about this item to show up,” Brower added. “We need to deal with it.”

The County Council could not impose an immediate moratorium at that time. Rather, an ordinance setting forth a moratorium would have to be drafted and submitted to the council at a future date.

Even so, the council voted 6-0 to set a special meeting for 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, to receive more information on flooding and a possible moratorium. Council Member Matt Reinhart was absent.