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Miller Lake residents urge county to seek revocation of 2017 water‑management permit after prolonged flooding
Summary
Residents near Miller Lake told the Volusia County Council that a 2017 St. Johns River Water Management District permit allowing runoff into the lake has left private property persistently flooded. Speakers asked the council to ask the district to revoke the permit and to pump the lake before hurricane season.
Residents of the Miller Lake area told the Volusia County Council on May 20 that their yards, driveways and trees remain waterlogged months after a hurricane and asked county leaders to seek revocation of a 2017 permit they blame for persistent flooding.
Speakers said the Royal Oaks Professional Center drainage system, authorized in a February 2017 St. Johns River Water Management District permit, routes runoff into Miller Lake and has, they said, reduced the lake’s capacity to handle storms. “Please start pumping the water out now,” resident Josh Rivera told the council during public participation.
Why it matters: Residents described long-term damage to private property, dead trees and increasing safety concerns — including more alligators and trash in newly flooded areas — and said hurricane season was looming with the lake already unusually high. Several speakers asked the council to act quickly because they expect more flooding in the coming months.
What residents described: Dave Hill, who identified himself as living on Miller Road, said his front yard became a swamp after the system began operating in early 2018. He told the council the permit allowed three drains on Tremont Drive to send water rapidly into the system, making a nearby weir ineffective and raising water levels within minutes of normal storms. Catherine Levinson, another resident, said the higher water level has brought rotting vegetation, trash and more alligators to her shoreline and appealed for pumping operations before hurricane season. Dannette Musser and Dave Kremer gave the council photographs and FEMA flood‑map excerpts they said show new, deeper inundation of properties.
Authorities and limits: Speakers repeatedly cited the February 2017 St. Johns River Water Management District permit for the Royal Oaks Professional Center as the relevant document authorizing the drainage system and as the mechanism that residents believe can be revoked. The county and speakers noted that St. Johns River Water Management District, not the county, issues and enforces such permits.
Council and staff response: Council members did not take a formal vote on the record during the public comment period. Several members asked questions and staff noted that the county can coordinate with the district and other entities. Residents asked the council to request that the district revoke or modify the permit and to arrange for emergency pumping. No formal direction or decision was recorded in the public transcript beyond requests for staff follow up and for interagency coordination.
What’s next: Residents asked the council to press St. Johns River Water Management District to revoke or modify the permit and to pursue immediate pumping. The transcript records multiple residents urging the council to act before hurricane season; the council did not record a formal motion on the floor during public comment.
Ending: Speakers closed by urging quicker interagency action and more transparent communication about any county role in seeking changes to the permit or arranging pumping operations.
