Daytona Beach extends support, timeline for Army Corps flooding study

Daytona Beach commissioners on June 4 agreed to extend and continue limited funding for a flooding mitigation study being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, while staff said the Corps is still calibrating its hydraulic model and expects to brief the commission later this summer. Utilities Director Shannon Ponitz told the commission the Army Corps has been working on the study since January and is “trying to get the existing conditions calibrated.” She said Corps staff are using rainfall and water elevation data from Hurricane Milton to calibrate the model and will run an economic cost-benefit analysis of mitigation alternatives once calibration is complete. “The project manager told me he anticipates briefing the commission in August or September,” Ponitz said, adding staff recommended a six-month extension to the study schedule. The commission’s extension preserves the Corps’ current work plan and the city’s ability to contribute matching or supplemental funds as needed. Commissioners asked about the timeline and the reason for the extension; Ponitz said model work has proceeded more slowly than Corps staff anticipated and that the Corps will analyze the monetary damage avoided by mitigation alternatives before recommending options. Mayor Derek L. Henry and commissioners did not approve a specific construction project or funding commitment on June 4; they approved only the extension and associated administrative actions so the Corps can finish modeling and the city can receive the Corps’ alternatives and economic analysis. Why it matters: the Corps’ study is intended to quantify potential damage under a no-action scenario, evaluate mitigation alternatives and produce a cost-benefit analysis. Commissioners and staff said that information is necessary before the city can consider major capital projects or budgets tied to Corps recommendations. What’s next: staff will return with the Corps’ alternatives and the Corps will brief commissioners, likely in August or September. The Corps’ final report—Ponitz said—remains due in 2027 under the study’s current schedule.