DELAND, Fla. — With the start of hurricane season less than two weeks away, Volusia County leaders are talking about a number of drainage analysis projects in DeLand.

What You Need To Know

  • The Volusia County Council is looking at a number of drainage analysis projects in DeLand
  • The goal is to develop construction plans to prevent future flooding
  • The total cost of the four studies is estimated to be $828,010

Officials say the goal of the projects is to develop construction plans to prevent future flooding, which is what residents in some areas experienced in recent years.

Those areas include Northwest DeLand and Heritage Place, Gleneagles and Orange Camp Road, Saddlebrook subdivision, and near DeLand Middle School. 

The county wants to hire Halff Associates, Inc., to conduct area drainage alternative analysis, drainage improvements, and a water reclamation study.

The total cost of these four studies is projected to be $828,010.

It will be paid for by the community development block grant disaster recovery funds from Hurricane Ian. 

Residents Spectrum News 13 spoke with are hopeful for a solution to the flooding issues.

Jim Fourtin has been living in the DeLand area for 10 years and said his property lies in the project area. It hasn’t flooded yet and he said he hopes it stays that way.

He’s glad the county council is talking about this. 

“It’s called preventative maintenance to check on, to make sure the problem doesn’t exist in the future, that they can keep doing what they’re doing,” Fourtin said. 

Carlos Martoral's property hasn’t flooded either, but he knows after living in the Sunshine State for quite some time, that could change. 

He lives in the project area close to Orange Camp Road and looks forward to the county’s discussion.

“Hey, we live in Florida, we’re worried about hurricane season all the time," Martoral said. "The more you build, the more you cause flooding around the local communities. So, it’s going to be a hard fix trying to find a solution."

JC Figueredo has flooding on his mind. 

Spectrum News spoke with him in January 2025, when he said runoff from neighboring developments was aggravating the issue of water seeping onto this property.

His message for people in the area: Prepare now for hurricane season. 

“We appreciate them doing the work, trying to make some progress in it," Figueredo said. "Check your topography, check where the water has been, and check if you have flood insurance. It’s a cheap guarantee you don’t lose everything you worked for."

And for the city of DeLand, officials there say they are looking forward to working with the County Council.

“Instead of waiting for the next storm, we wanted to proactively go after this and see what could be done to mitigate the flooding in those areas,” said DeLand community information manager Chris Graham.

After the studies are done, the city and county officials will make a decision on what to do.