ASTOR, Fla. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has developed a list of projects aimed at protecting the Astor area of Lake County from repeated flooding during hurricanes.
News 6 has reported on the flooding in Astor for many years.
It sits right on the banks of the St. Johns River, dividing Volusia and Lake counties.
Some of the homes sit just steps away from the water.
“This is the flood line. This is where the water sat most of the time,” Brie Garcia said.
Garcia and her wife experienced two flood events in 2022 when Hurricanes Ian and Nicole hit just weeks apart, sending storm-surged waters into the streets.
“This is where (the water) sat for about three months,” Garcia said as she showed News 6 a line on her fence created by the flooding. “We could get in and out but unfortunately, we weren’t able to stay here.”
Many of Garcia’s neighbors applied for federal assistance after those hurricanes.
News 6 investigated and found out the Federal Emergency Management Agency paid out $924,188.23 in disaster aid to residents in Astor in 2022.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Investigation
Shortly after Hurricanes Ian and Nicole hit, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Silver Jackets arrived in Astor to investigate.
News 6 followed them as they used boats to closely analyze the areas of Astor hit repeatedly by flooding.
Study Results
According to their report submitted to Lake County government, the Silver Jackets came up with recommended improvements to seven areas in the Astor area:
| AREA | MANAGMENT MEASURES | IMPACT |
|---|---|---|
| Lake George Road | Raise road to an elevation of 4.0 feet NAVD88. | Roadway kept dry during higher river stage events allowing emergency vehicles to reach homes |
| Astor Campground | Add a 2-foot-diameter culvert under Alco Road. Clear swales north and south of Alco Road. | Small decrease of water surface elevation (WSE) when downstream (DS) stage is below flood stage. No decrease in WSE when DS stage is high (3.6 feet NAVD88). |
| Maple Road and Hazelnut Road | Add flap gates to all culverts outflowing to the St. Johns River. | No significant decrease in WSE. Water was allowed to pass around culverts due to low ground elevations. |
| Fern, Bobcat, Palmetto, and Deer Roads | Clear swales from Panther Road to Deer Road to give the water a preferential flow path through the existing culverts | Moderate decrease of WSE on roadways in this area (roughly 0.6 feet WSE decrease on Deer Road during 4% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) storm) regardless of DS stage modeled. |
| Bartram and Holiday Roads | Clear swales on either side of Bartram Road. Add 1.5-foot-diameter culvert under both Bartram and Holiday Roads | Small decrease of WSE when DS stage is below flood stage. No decrease in WSE when DS stage is high (3.6 feet NAVD88). |
| Bartram and Holiday Roads | Culvert under Jaime Road expanded to a 2 x 12-foot box | Small decrease of WSE when DS stage is below flood stage. No decrease in WSE when DS stage is high (3.6 feet NAVD88). |
| Astor Library | Add a 20-foot bottom width (BW) channel north of Smith Street. Add a 1.5 x 3-foot double-barrel box culvert under both Smith Street and Alco Road. | Significant decrease of WSE on roadways in this area (roughly 1.13 feet WSE decrease on Smith Street during 4% AEP storm) regardless of DS stage modeled. |
Lake County’s Plan of Action
When hurricanes hit, first responders monitor weather conditions and possible damage reports from the Lake County Emergency Operations Center in Tavares.
“When we have a hurricane, we essentially do what we call, ‘Astor watch,’ and we work with the sheriff’s office and the office of fire rescue,” Melanie Milanese said.
Milanese is Lake County’s emergency management director, and she said her team considers Astor a problem area during strong storms.
Watch News 6′s initial investigation into the flooding of Astor
She said any flood improvements recommended by the USACE would have to be paid for by the county, and that is why county engineers are now going over these recommendations to see if there would be a good return on any investment of tax dollars.
“From what we’re looking at, it looks like we’re going to have to do some additional analysis of these projects, especially from a kind of return on investment and how much it’s going to actually be beneficial versus how much money we would have to spend to make those projects happen,” she said.
While engineers study those results, residents like Garcia are keeping tabs on the weather forecast for signs of any hurricane.
“We actually honestly talked about – why not sell now and get out while we can?’” Garcia said. “This is home.”
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