EDGEWATER, Fla. — Edgewater residents are asking the city to take action and work to fix issues that have been contributing to flooding in the city on a continual basis.

What You Need To Know

  • Residents in Edgewater are asking the city to take action and fix all the ongoing issues that are causing flooding in the city on a continual basis

  • Donna McDavid says her home has flooded three times — during hurricanes Ian, Nicole and now Milton

  • She said she wants the city to improve Edgewater's stormwater infrastructure

  • Edgewater Councilwoman Charlotte Gillis said that on Thursday the city will have a workshop to discuss the possibility of a moratorium on development 

  • The workshop is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 7 at 4 p.m.

The next step leaders are looking into is a potential moratorium on development to give them time to address the city’s stormwater problems.

As Edgewater resident Donna McDavid looks inside a POD storage unit in her driveway that contains what’s left of her belongings after getting flooded during Hurricane Milton, she can’t help but feel lost. 

“Heartbroken,” she said. “Not knowing what I’m going to do next.”

Her home has flooded three times, during Hurricanes Ian, Nicole and now Milton. 

“I can’t afford to go anyplace else,” McDavid said. “I’ve paid for my home twice already. My life savings is gone.” 

Her house sits right next to a retention pond on Bond Street, and across from another pond. She says both drain into Duck Lake Pond, which doesn’t have an outflow. 

McDavid worries any future storm with heavy rains might lead to yet more flooding, and said she would like the city to take action now to pump down the water. 

“With the significant rain that we’re getting ready to expect, go ahead and get a hold of Saint John’s today,” she said. “Get them some pressure so they can approve and allow us to go ahead and pump and drain down.”

McDavid said every time her home has flooded, she’s also had issues with sewer backing up. 

“Ian, we literally had sewage backed up in the house,” she said. “This time it was after the water was already out of the home. So, but our streets were filled with it.”

McDavid said she believes all the issues come back to the condition of the city’s stormwater infrastructure.

“I feel like the infrastructure is pretty well shot,” she said. “I feel like there’s been a lot of things to let go. Have not been maintained over the years. Now we have all this extra development that’s coming in and I think it’s really putting a hardship on what little bit of an infrastructure that we still have left.”

Edgewater Councilwoman Charlotte Gillis said she has spent time out in the community talking to residents about their concerns.  

“A lot of people have been concerned that we didn’t do enough to prepare last time,” she said. “And they’re hoping that we will do more to prepare for the next storm.”

Gillis said that on Thursday at 4 p.m., the city will have a workshop to discuss the possibility of a development moratorium as a necessary pause while the city works to address the stormwater issues.

“I think the moratorium is going to need to accomplish two things: I think we need to clean up the mess that we have, No, 1,” Gillis said. “And No. 2, we need to safeguard protections for the future so that new developments never put us in this position again.”

“Personally, I would like to see that move forward with a city ordinance, but as well as even putting it into our charter when our charter comes up for review.”