City leaders ask citizens to help upgrade lift stations

Daytona Beach city leaders are asking the county for nearly $10 million to upgrade several lift stations around the city.

This will help prevent floodwaters and sewage from backing up into people's homes during major storms.

Two of the lift stations are located in Midtown, where Patricia Singleton has lived for 59 years.

She has lost everything in her home after flooding for the 5th time during Hurricane Milton.

"And it's getting worse and worse and I would like for them to buy my property so I could go somewhere else," said Singleton.

There is a plan in place for flooding problems that have plagued the community for decades but it's a project that will span over the course of several years.

The city is under contract with the US Army Corps of Engineers, which is conducting a feasibility study. It's the first step in a potential federally cost-shared project that could be part of the city's long-term flood resiliency strategy. But in the meantime, City Manager Deric Feacher said Daytona Beach is working to upgrade existing infrastructure.

"These lift stations will be in critical areas for our community. They help us to make sure there aren't backups, and those pipes that are also attached can make sure that water is being pushed out as soon as possible," said Feacher.

Feacher said fixing the stations that were first built in the 1950s could help prevent thousands of structures from having sewage backups during storms," said Feacher.

The funding for the stations would come from the county's Transform 386 program, which is funded by the federal government. The county will hear and hopefully approve the city's proposal at its November 19th meeting.