Apopka staff outline permanent irrigation plan for Clearwater Lake; HOA faces roughly $2,400 per household share

City staff presented a plan July 16 to create a private irrigation pump station for Clearwater Lake that would let Clear Lake Landing disconnect from the city’s reclaimed‑water system and use lake water for irrigation under a consumptive‑use permit issued by the St. Johns River Water Management District. The council did not vote on the project that night but directed staff to pursue further meetings and a workshop with the affected homeowners associations.

The plan matters to nearby residents because the closed‑basin lake has been rising in recent years and flooded yards in Clear Lake Estates and Clear Lake Landing. Vladimir Simovsky, the city’s public works director and city engineer, told the council the long‑term design replaces emergency pumping used in February–April 2023, when temporary pumping reduced the lake by about 3.4 feet at a cost the city reported as $195,150.

Simovsky said his office contracted the Balmoral Group to design a permanent irrigation pump station and obtain permitting;…