FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 20, 2014
REED CANAL BASIN, HALIFAX RIVER TO
BENEFIT FROM MORE THAN $110,000 INVESTMENT
~Funding will allow for the purchase of land to
construct retention area~
TALLAHASSEE - The Lantern Park
Subdivision in South Daytona will soon receive must-needed flood protection
thanks to a $112,500 investment from the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection and the city of South Daytona. The investment funds part one of a
project to reroute the current stormwater collection system and create a new
retention area.
“The construction of
this new retention area is not only a win for homeowners who have been
negatively impacted by flooding, but also a win for the Reed Canal and Halifax River,”
said DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. “This land acquisition will allow
for the installation of a retention area and stormwater pumps that will help
the homeowners and the environment.”
“In light of the recent
hard rain our area had received, this project is of vital importance to our community
and surrounding areas," said Sen. Dorothy Hukill. “Not only will this
project alleviate flooding concerns in the Lantern Park subdivision, it also
allows for collected stormwater to be pretreated before it makes its way to the
Halifax River. This project is as much a public safety and property protection
priority, as well as an important environmental safeguard."
Water that flows off of
land and into creeks, streams or rivers after a rain is referred to as
stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff usually contains a number of pollutants,
including fertilizers, pesticides, oil and grease. Once this runoff reaches a
waterbody, the pollutants can cause rapid algal growth, algal blooms and other
complications.
The Lantern Park subdivision
was developed in the 1960s without a stormwater retention system. The inlets located throughout the subdivision
collect stormwater and discharge it directly into Reed Canal. This untreated
stormwater travels down Reed Canal and eventually flows into the Halifax River,
which is a protected waterway.
This stormwater
protection project involves the acquisition of a parcel of land, construction
of a stormwater retention area to pretreat the collected stormwater and
installation of a stormwater pump station to alleviate flooding. The city of
South Daytona has been trying to purchase a parcel of land big enough to
construct the stormwater retention area for this subdivision. Recently, an
ideal parcel became available and this grant is going to fund the 1.25-acre
land acquisition, which is expected to be completed by January 2015.
| 
