Are growth and development responsible for all flooding?

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This is the first part of a series.

Why did we have floods when we had never seen them before? Is it because of new developments? When will the lowlands dry out? Will development laws change to prevent this from moving forward? Our series answers the many questions that Ian and Nicole left us asking.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GOOGLE EARTHON ALL SIDES This series of maps collected from Google Earth shows the area surrounding Common Ground Farm at 1330 E. Taylor Road, as indicated by the red pushpin, in 1999, 2004, 2010, 2016 and 2022. Various regulators and Volusia County said development surrounding Common Ground Farm did not necessarily contribute to flooding experienced by its owners after Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. Farm owners Pat and John Joslin said surrounding development has impacted their land’s ability to drain water, but county officials said all developments adhere to strict stormwater regulations. Officials say the answers lie in many variables.

The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season has been tough for Florida and Volusia County. Hurricane Ian brought up to 21 inches of rain and wind gusts of nearly 100 mph to parts of Volusia County in late September.

Then, just over a month later, Hurricane Nicole hit the county’s east coast with high waves and heavy rain.

After Ian drove through Florida, Common Ground Farm owners Pat and John Joslin were surrounded by a moat about 3 feet deep.

We couldn’t leave the property except in my pickup, John Joslin said.

Their farm at 1330 E. Taylor Road in DeLand produces about 20,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables a year, but flooding from the 500-year-old storm inundated more than half of their crops, the worst they’ve seen, said the Joslins. Some vegetables were just weeks away from harvest.

In October, when the Joslins were pumping the water Ian dumped off their property, they hoped they could make a profit in 2023. But in December, after Nicole filled their property with water, the Joslins were less optimistic.

The Joslins weren’t the only ones taking damage. According to Volusia County, the two storms caused at least $858 million in damage across the county.

So what is to blame for the unprecedented flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian? Development? Climate change? Or is it a combination of too many variables to count?

BEACON PHOTO/NOAH HERTZUNDERWATER One of Common Ground Farm’s fields on East Taylor Road in DeLand is flooded after Hurricane Ian, killing tons of crops.The dirt doesn’t lie

David Griffis said the past can give clues to the future.

Griffis is a soil expert who led the University of Florida Agricultural Extension in Volusia County and now teaches environmental science at Stetson University.

Griffis said the telltale signs of flooding can be identified even if the ground has been dry for years. Floors don’t lie; they tell us what to look for, he says. It may not be wet today, or tomorrow, or in six months, or in a year, but history shows us that the ground does get wet.

It was a difficult thing to explain to developers, landowners and politicians, Griffis added.

Geology meets government

Although areas like DeLand, for example, sit on a geological ridge formed about 100,000 years ago known as the DeLand Ridge, much of Florida’s development is built on wetlands.

For the Joslins, a lot has changed in the nearly 20 years since they started working on the Taylor Road property, and they blame the large surrounding developments for diverting extra water in their direction. Water rushed into their property during and after the hurricanes, pouring from nearby vacant lots and large housing estates like Sawyers Landing and Victoria Trails.

But Volusia County says neighboring existing properties are considered when new developments are approved.

When new developments come in, there are pretty strict rules they are required to follow, county engineer Tadd Kasbeer told The Beacon. One of those things is to take a look at the adjacent properties. Let’s not do this in a vacuum.

Due to storm water regulations, if there is water spilling from one property onto another, the water was flowing that way prior to any development. If it causes flooding, it’s because there was a storm every 500 years, not because there was development, county officials said.

Many newer developments, Kasbeer said, have fared well after Ian and Nicole, and that’s because stormwater management standards imposed by the county and the St. Johns have become stricter over the years.

A few simple rules

Essentially, the stormwater requirements for any development follow a few simple rules: a property’s retention ponds must accommodate the same amount of rainwater as the land received prior to the development, and the development is not not allowed to force more water than before on neighboring properties. .

PHOTO COURTESY OF LESLIES GREENHOUSE IN DELTONA PREVIOUS Hurricanes Ian and Nicole brought unprecedented flooding to parts of Deltona, like this one on Captain Drive, pictured shortly after Ians visited.

The goal is to preserve existing conditions, said land use attorney Mark Watts of Cobb Cole. If water is flowing from your property, it can continue to flow from your property, but when you develop it, you cannot increase the rate or volume flowing from your property.

But the amount of water that rushes from one piece of land to another is very different during a 100-year storm compared to a 500-year storm. And the required systems are designed to function well in a 100-year-old storm whose size and strength has a 1 in 100 chance of occurring.

Ian was a 500 year old storm.

You exceed the design capabilities, Watts said.

Many areas that suffered flooding after Ian and Nicole were not built to withstand 500-year-old storms. In fact, no one was really home.

Ian, Nicole and the Big Bad Storms

What we had with Ian was just monumental, Kasbeer said.

Ian dumped up to 20 inches of rain over parts of Volusia County.

We design things for 100 years [storm] at most, Kasbeer explained, the idea being something bigger than that, you’re going to put a lot of effort into something that has a small chance of happening, and in this case, it did.

Soil expert Griffis said the same; building for storms like Ian just isn’t done.

BEACON PHOTO/NOAH HERTZPUMPING The gullies along Taylor Road are full in front of Common Ground Farm in DeLand. A blue pipe carries water from the soaked farm property to the swales, thanks to a pump that the Joslins had to install after hurricanes Ian and Nicole.

It would be very difficult to develop a new subdivision based on a 500-year-old storm, he said. There would be no more land if you tried to create a housing estate and store all that water on site.

The last big change to county regulations came after the 2004 hurricane season. Prior to that, developments were built to withstand only 25-year storms, Kasbeer said.

Because the new developments have avoided major flooding, Kasbeer added, the county does not currently foresee any dramatic regulatory changes in a post-Ian and post-Nicole world.

What is not yet clear, however, is whether events that previously had a 1 in 500 chance of occurring each year are occurring more often.

Climate change

Evidence suggests that storms dump more water on the areas they hit.

These extreme floods are becoming more frequent and even more severe due to a warmer and more humid atmosphere due to climate change, said David Zierden, a researcher at Florida State University. It’s pretty much accepted by the larger community. There’s been a lot of work on it, and Florida is definitely one of them.

Zierden is Florida’s state climatologist, a position that makes him one of Florida’s top climate authorities.

Sea level rise doesn’t help either.

BEACON PHOTO/NOAH HERTZLINE OF DEFENSE John Joslin points to sandbags lined up defensively along the eastern boundary of Common Grounds Farm, where he and his wife saw water pouring onto their property from vacant land at the is of them. The Joslins would like Volusia County to purchase the vacant lot and turn it into a stormwater retention area.

Seas have risen about 1 foot in the last 100 years which seems like a very slow rise but if you add another foot of sea level rise it can really exacerbate erosion problems , added Zierden. I think we were seeing the combination of all of that.

With all of these variables in mind, Volusia County contends that there is much more going on than additional development causing worsening flooding.

With global warming and climate change, we already have the evidence to anticipate the storms getting bigger, said Volusia County Community Information Manager Kevin Captain. Emergency management, their key element is mitigation.

The county received grants to invest in creating low-impact development standards for stormwater infrastructure, as well as grants of $288,000 and $440,000 to conduct vulnerability assessments across the county.

The assessments would better help the county understand how sea level rise and other factors will affect critical infrastructure.

Next episode of our series: The beach, and will the rules of development change?

Are you considering buying a property? Check this map first to see if it is prone to flooding.

Although it may seem dry when you are buying a home or selecting land to build a home on, Florida is a wet state and much of the state is made up of historic wetlands.

That’s why Volusia County urges potential buyers and property owners to take a look at the history of the land they’re considering purchasing.

Hopefully this storm reinforces how important it is before buying a property to do some research to find out what the water levels were on that property in the past, county engineer Tadd Kasbeer told The Beacon. I can’t stress this enough: do your due diligence before buying property or building on property.

County officials have urged people to visit the county’s website to view interactive maps that show flood-prone areas and more.

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