EDGEWATER, Fla. — After weekend flooding, Edgewater residents and city leaders are raising concerns about the city’s drainage system and the impacts new developments are having on it.

What You Need To Know

  • Residents say dozens of Edgewater streets flooded on Saturday

  • They said new developments and the condition of drainage systems may have contributed to the increased flooding

  • Edgewater City Council will hold a special meeting on Friday at 6 p.m. to address flood concerns and to discuss a building moratorium

  • Related: Edgewater residents call for action after weekend flooding

On Saturday, residents say dozens of Edgewater streets flooded, with water entering some of their garages and homes. City officials said some areas received up to 7 inches of rain — which caused a level of flooding residents said they hadn’t seen since Hurricane Ian in 2022.

Some residents said the city’s drainage system may have contributed to increased flooding, which is why resident Robert Walker said he has been cleaning out blocked drains and culverts in his neighborhood himself.

“I went around and found many culverts and storm drains,” Walker said. “They looked abandoned. They were overgrown with grass or half full of dirt.”

Walker and his family have lived in Edgewater for three generations. Since the flooding, Walker said he has cleaned up about a dozen blocked drains and culverts across his Edgewater neighborhood. He’s found culverts that are rusted, caved in or not properly draining.

“You can see where the water is not flowing,” he said.

Walker and other residents said the drainage system may have contributed to increased flooding, which created areas of standing water that some residents said have led to an increase in mosquitoes.

“We spend a lot of time outside and it’s just a miserable experience right now,” said Edgewater resident Josh Szymczak. “You can’t sit in the garage without getting swarmed.”

Some residents said new developments may also be contributing to the flooding.

Edgewater City Councilwoman Charlotte Gillis said she has been visiting neighborhoods and meeting with residents all week to discuss flooding concerns. After hearing that a new development off of Volco Road may be causing flooding for lower-lying neighborhoods, she immediately visited the site. 

“I called the city,” Gillis said. “I said I wanted that to have a stop work order on that project, and I wanted a moratorium and I would be bringing that forward.”

Gillis, a lifelong Edgewater resident, said that as she’s been meeting with residents, she’s heard drainage concerns, too.

“I’ve definitely got some concerns — there are things that need to be addressed,” Gillis said. “I brought up in budget-season that I wanted to see more ditch maintenance.”

On Friday at 6 p.m., the Edgewater City Council will hold a special meeting to discuss flooding concerns and a potential building moratorium. More information can be found in the meeting agenda. 

On Saturday at 8 a.m., Walker is holding a drainage system cleanup in the Florida Shores neighborhood. 

“Anything that we can clean up by hand,” he said. “Maybe weed whack around the edges of some of these areas that are overgrown and dig out some of the dirt that’s in the pipes.”

The cleanup will start at 1518 Industrial Dr., in Edgewater. For more information, Walker can be reached by email at robertwalker.QPS@gmail.com. 

Reagan Ryan is a 2023 — 2025 Report for America Corps Member, covering the environment and climate across Central Florida for Spectrum News 13. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.