“We treaded through two feet of water, greeting residents that were displaced, homes that were inundated and lives that were ruined,” U.S. Rep. Darren Soto said at a press conference in Kissimmee to announce the grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The neighborhood of Buenaventura Lakes has endured repeated flooding over the years, forcing its over 30,000 residents to evacuate during Hurricane Irma in 2017 and most recently during Ian in 2022.
The county has already invested about $15 million in fixing the drainage over the last decade, County Commissioner Viviana Janer said. The system dates back from the 1980s and she is hopeful improvements can be made before the next big storm hits.
“This will affect hundreds of homes, hundreds of families in the entire Buenaventura Lakes area and the surrounding communities,” Janer said. “The infrastructure is very old out there and quite frankly it couldn’t handle these new increased rains that we have been getting.”
It’s been a decades-long fight to secure the money, said Soto, D-Kissimmee.
The county applied for the grant right after Irma, but roughly four years after Ian hit the community without significant drainage improvements. Soto said there’s “no doubt” flooding during Ian would not have been as intense if the county had received these funds more quickly.
“This is the cost of slow bureaucracy among FEMA that we need to improve upon,” Soto said.
The largest portion of the grant, over $10 million, will fund drainage improvements to existing stormwater collection and conveyance in Buenaventura Lakes. A new drainage system would be built that uses gravity without relying on a pump in the area, according to a press release.
The project will also allow increased water flow by lowering peak pond stages, substantially reducing displacement, road and structural damages. It aims to provide protection against a 50-year storm event, although Hurricane Ian was described as a 500-year flood event by Governor Ron DeSantis at the time.
Just over $3 million of the grant will fund the reinforcement of five intersections across the county against 150-mph storm-related winds in an effort to ensure they remain functional.
Thirteen traffic control devices will be replaced at the intersections of Cypress Parkway at Doverplum Avenue, Fortune Road at Lakeside Drive, Michigan Avenue at Carroll Street, Michigan Avenue at Donegan Avenue and Michigan Avenue at Mill Slough Road.
The aging traffic lights suspended over an intersection will instead become cables stretched between poles with traffic signals attached to horizontal metal arms.
While officials hope these improvements ensure Buenaventura Lakes won’t flood again, they couldn’t make any promises as the effects of climate change will likely continue to cause more intense hurricanes.
“I would not be surprised if after we’re all done, 10, 20, 30 years down the line someone else is going to have to take up the mantle on these issues,” Soto said. “We’re in uncharted territory when it comes to hurricanes and climate change.”
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