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Orlando Heights residents ask city for help as spring‑table lake and berming damage private roads
Summary
Orlando Heights Neighborhood Improvement District leaders told council rising water and a berm on private property have inundated private roads and threatened access; city manager said staff will consult St. Johns River Water Management District and caution residents about altering private property that shifts water to neighbors.
Representatives of the Orlando Heights Neighborhood Improvement District asked the City of DeBary for assistance after a lake in their subdivision has repeatedly flooded private roads and damaged pavement, leaving at least one residence with limited emergency access.
Nut graf: The neighborhood said the lake has swelled following recent hurricane seasons and high groundwater, causing extended standing water that has impaired at least two private road segments; the city manager said staff will coordinate with St. Johns River Water Management District to investigate fill or berming on private property and warned owners that raising private roads could shift water onto neighbors.
Chris Bowman, chairman of the Orlando Heights Neighborhood Improvement District, presented photos showing water levels that have covered community roads and detailed costs to raise affected road segments. Bowman said one road would require roughly 500 feet of 16‑foot‑wide roadway raised 12–18 inches at an estimated cost of about $75,000; a second segment would require about $25,000. He said 13 properties around the lake represent more than $8 million in real estate value and that emergency access to at least one house has been impeded.
City Manager Carmen Rosamondo acknowledged the area’s basin topography funnels water to that low point and said staff will meet with St. Johns River Water Management District to investigate whether wetland fill has been placed on private property (a berm referenced in Bowman’s presentation). Rosamondo cautioned that private efforts to elevate roads or place berms can create liability if they divert water onto neighboring properties and noted any pumping plan to the burrow pit would be complex and likely require crossing private property.
Council members asked whether the neighborhood has access to borrowing for private road repair; Rosamondo said she would review relevant ordinances but indicated residential improvement districts have limited borrowing authority and that pumping a spring‑table lake may be ineffective because the water table will refill the basin.
Ending: City staff will consult with St. Johns River Water Management District, evaluate potential enforcement if private wetland fill is found, and provide guidance to residents about options and liabilities for private road repairs and water management.
