Apopka council approves emergency Border Lake pumping plan and $100,000 budget addition

The Apopka City Council on March 5 approved a short-term emergency pumping plan to lower Border Lake and downstream lakes and directed staff to proceed while Orange County pursues an emergency permit from the St. Johns River Water Management District. Commissioner Nesta moved to approve the plan and to budget $100,000 for the effort; Commissioner Smith seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

City digital design manager Daho said the operation would move water through a four-leg pumping setup from Border Lake toward Lake Blue and other connected lakes. Under the current plan, pumps would operate about nine hours per day, seven days a week, and staff estimated the job could take roughly 52 days under the working assumptions. Daho said the cost estimate presented to the council included a 10% contingency but cautioned that final rental and equipment costs were not yet firm and could increase as engineers scope the site.

Why it matters: residents in nearby developments have reported high lake levels since last fall, and several public commenters told the council their ponds already exceed normal capacity. Attorney Angelica Jones, representing Wekiva Village residents, urged the council to measure local levels and consider siting pumps in her neighborhood rather than waiting for flooding to occur. Sylvester Hall and other residents pressed for clearer maintenance records and faster mitigation.

Council and staff said the county is leading permitting and that St. Johns typically processes emergency permits quickly. Commissioner Moore noted the permit window is 90 days and urged coordination so the work finishes within that period. Daho said the city has established communications with the homeowners association, obtained some homeowner consents and will continue outreach; he also said the city will use quieter pump units and sound mitigation measures near residences where possible.

Staff described monitoring and operational safeguards: each pump will have a flow meter and the system will send an alert to staff phones if a unit fails, allowing rapid response. Daho also said the plan will seek to reuse existing infrastructure where feasible and staff are exploring a longer-term solution that could use an easement to connect Border Lake to reclaimed-water infrastructure, pending Lumen property easement discussions and state review.

Next steps: with council approval, the city will finalize permit details with Orange County, secure funding and start equipment deployment once the emergency permit and vendor arrangements are in place. The council also approved a budget amendment at the same meeting that added the $100,000 transfer for Border Lake as part of a larger amendment.