- February 7, 2025
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During the Volusia County Legislative Delegation meeting on Friday, Nov. 3, Port Orange city officials asked for $750,000 to go toward the Virginia Avenue/Monroe Street Drainage Improvements Project.
During the Friday meeting Sen. Travis Hutson and local members of Congress spent more than three hours with Volusia County leaders to hear about local issues and needs in each city.
Present at the meeting was Port Orange Vice Mayor Bob Ford who asked for the $750,000 to fund Phase II of the city's stormwater diversion project, which was designed to help mitigate flooding.
According to Alan Rosen, assistant city manager, last year the city asked for $1.5 million and received $750,000. Ford said this would pay for about one third of the project. Roughly $750,000 would be coming from the city.
Rosen noted the city still needs to complete the rest of the project design as well as purchase land to construct more stormwater ponds and create connectivity between those ponds and the Halifax River to increase the capacity for stormwater conveyance in order to provide more places for the water drain.
Rosen said the project would also divert debris collected in the water to the ponds before being pumped out to increase the capacity to filter what is going into the river. This includes reducing the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus that ends up in the Halifax.
Ford said the area where the stormwater ponds would be construction is in serious need for the project to be completed.
"It's an important part of the old part of Port Orange and flooding there is really severe," Ford said. "It's really hard on the people there. Their homes are going under a couple feet of water. You can't live like that."
