Residents of Miller Lake urge county action as lake levels remain high after 2017 stormwater change

Residents who live on and around Miller Lake told the Volusia County Council on June 17 that the lake is fuller than historically and that nearby yards and roads are regularly flooded, and they urged immediate action from county officials.

“Another two weeks has gone by. No action or communication to the Miller Lake taxpayers,” resident David Hill told the council, adding that “we truly feel abandoned by our elected officials.” Hill said asphalt millings and erosion remain on Miller Road and warned that a heavy rain would flood homes. Peggy Hill, who said she lives on Miller Road in Orange City, brought photos and told the council “the lake has never been this full” and asked the county to restart pumping now, not wait for another overflow.

The concerns centered on changes residents trace to a 2017 letter of no objection the county issued for the Royal Oaks Professional Center stormwater connection. Multiple speakers said that decision allowed runoff from nearby commercial acreage to flow into the Miller Lake basin and that the lake has enlarged since then. “By the county agreeing to take this water, you opened our lake up to hundreds of acres of commercial properties water runoff,” David Hill said during public participation. Catherine Levinson and other residents showed county aerial photos from prior years and said they demonstrate a clear rise in water levels after 2017.

County staff and officials told the council they are constrained by pending litigation but described steps taken and available partners. A county official said, “We have met with the Department of Transportation. We have met with St. Johns [River Water Management District], and I think plans are in place…should the lake receive heavy rain, that we will act similarly to what we did in the last record rainstorm.” The county also repeated that it has discussed the situation with the St. Johns River Water Management District and that district staff told residents they are willing to help with pumping under the proper approvals.

Residents pressed the council for several actions during public comment: immediate pumping before the next heavy rain; revocation or modification of any permits that send outside runoff to Miller Lake; and a stop to new stormwater permits that direct additional runoff into the basin. Peggy Hill told councilors the Royal Oaks permit “needs to be revoked” and urged staff to ask the St. Johns River Water Management District to consider revocation because, she said, “modifications were made to the permit and no monitoring was done.”

Council members asked staff for a synopsis of what has occurred and what the county has done to date. The county manager declined to provide detail beyond the statement about meetings with the water district and DOT because of the pending litigation.

Why this matters: residents said their yards and neighborhood roads are now regularly impacted, that property lines have changed with rising waters, and that the change in stormwater routing affects both private property and local drainage systems. Council members acknowledged the emotional and practical impact on residents and asked staff to summarize steps taken to date and next options.

What the council did: the public comments were taken at the start of the meeting and no formal county policy or permit action was taken that night on Miller Lake; councilors sought a staff synopsis and reiterated staff and district contact, citing ongoing litigation as a constraint on public discussion.

What to watch next: staff follow-up summaries requested by council; any communications or permit actions by the St. Johns River Water Management District; and any new county measures (emergency pumping permits, temporary relief, or formal requests to the water management district) presented to the council.