DeBary to get $7.5 million FEMA grant to fight flooding

BEACON PHOTO/MARSHA MCLAUGHLIN
Fay flooding — A DeBary woman stands in the doorway of her flooded home in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Fay last August. The devastation from that storm helped prompt a FEMA grant to help DeBary put more stormwater-drainage systems in place, said Michael Willis, an aide to U.S. Rep. John Mica.

BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
A happy mayor — DeBary Mayor Bob Garcia, seen here campaigning for office in October, said he’s excited about the FEMA grant. It will help put a stormwater system in place to prevent flooding.

Mayor calls it ‘a godsend’

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Apr 26, 2009 - 10:51:57am

U.S. Rep. John Mica announced the City of DeBary will receive a grant of just under $7.5 million to help pay for stormwater projects under the Volusia County Emergency Flood Management System.

Mica’s announcement came April 20.

A happy DeBary Mayor Bob Garcia said April 21, “We’re getting all the details now ... We’re working with Congressman Mica; we’re working with the state; we’re working with the county.”

Mica said, “These funds will be used to develop a flood-control system that will, hopefully, prevent flooding problems like those DeBary experienced in 2004 and 2008.”

The grant of $7,490,232 covers 75 percent of the costs associated with a pump system that will reduce flood damages caused by overflowing landlocked lakes.

The City of DeBary will be responsible for matching 25 percent of the cost.

Garcia said the money is targeted for the west-side stormwater system. He won’t have a breakdown of just how the money is to be used until Friday, April 24.

Garcia, Acting City Manager Anthony Gonzalez and city staff are meeting daily to prioritize all the proposed stormwater projects in the city, the mayor said. He expects work performed with the grant will continue for at least three years.

“I’m excited,” Garcia said. “I’ve got to thank Mr. Mica from the bottom of my heart.”

Garcia also thanked former City Manager Maryann Courson, Gonzalez, and engineer Dave Armstrong for their efforts to get federal assistance for flood-ravaged DeBary.

“Extensive flooding in recent years has damaged approximately 200 homes and businesses in DeBary and blocked many roadways. The new drainage system is designed to transfer water out of the lakes and lessen the likelihood of future damage,” Mica said.

An independent study by the National Institute of Building Science’s Multihazard Mitigation Council (www.floods.org/PDF) found that every dollar spent on mitigation can save as much as $4 in response and recovery costs.

— pat@beacononlinenews.com

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