Seminole County takes step to fix Midway flooding

Seminole County commissioners took a big step forward on Tuesday in their plans to mitigate Midway’s routine flooding, approving deals with a dozen property owners to gain rights over their land.

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Commissioners will spend approximately $380,000 buying drainage easements on the 12 parcels, a significant wave as they work to strike deals with more than 100 property owners before construction work begins.

“This is where the project stalled the last time,” Commissioner Andria Herr said. “We’ve put together a full press effort to make sure the community is aware of the need.”

The $23 million project has been in the works since a community survey showed the need for the work in 2018.

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The historic, low-lying area was swamped by Hurricane Ian several years ago. Since much of the community is on septic, flooding also presents a hygiene problem.

The project will see bigger ditches dug, new pipes laid and six new retention ponds created.

It was supposed to be funded by the American Rescue Plan and begin after December, though Herr said funding had been shifted toward the Penny Sales Tax so the deadline could be extended as acquisition deals are struck.

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“Before it wasn’t a unified front, now it is a unified front and we’re super excited about that,” Midway resident Emory Green Jr. said.

Herr said no individual property owner would be able to derail the work this time around. She said it would take a few years before the work is completed, during which time residents can expect the usual headaches that come with major road construction.

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