Volusia County advisory committee presses for study of reclaimed-water irrigation’s role in flooding and readies stormwater-standard review

Volusia County advisory committee members asked staff and outside experts to analyze whether reclaimed-water irrigation practices are contributing to localized flooding, and agreed to move forward with reviewing countywide minimum stormwater standards and associated implementing ordinances.

The discussion, prompted by committee member Tyler Malmberg, focused on whether pumping reclaimed water into neighborhood ponds or irrigation systems could meaningfully raise groundwater or basin levels in closed or semi-closed basins. Malmberg, identified in the meeting as a committee member, said, "We need to actually research a little bit ourselves into the topic of, is pumping water within our basins contributing to our flooding problem? And I don't have enough information to have an informed position. I'm pretty ignorant on this, to be perfectly blunt, in terms of scale."

Why it matters: the committee is drafting minimum countywide standards that, if adopted, would be applied in all 16 Volusia County municipalities. Clay, a county staff member who briefed the committee, said the county intends to take coordinated LID (low-impact development) and stormwater standards to the County Council together rather than in separate meetings. He explained that chapter 72 (subdivision standards) and chapter 122 (utilities)…