PORT ORANGE, Fla. — Eyewitness News is asking Port Orange leaders why some areas flooded during weekend rainstorms and what they are doing to prevent it from happening again.
One homeowner in the Sleepy Hollow neighborhood showed us her flooded home and yard.
“This was a rainstorm. Why do we have to be concerned about a rainstorm?” said Tina Stevenson.
Another neighbor showed us how she lifted all of her furniture to prepare for more days of rain.
“I went and got cinderblocks and put all my furniture up so maybe I can save that if nothing else,” said Kathy Hall.
Eyewitness News has been covering flooding issues in the neighborhood for at least 21 years. We found a video in our archives of streets underwater in 2004.
We asked the city whether anything was being done to help that specific area.
“We have a project that we are trying to get funding for, so we’ve applied for funding through multiple sources for the Sleepy Hollow area,” said City Engineer Junos Reed.
The city said most stormwater systems can only handle 11 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. On Sunday in Port Orange, it rained four inches in just one hour. That’s eight times the rate the systems can accommodate.
For Sleepy Hollow specifically, the city said crews have performed scheduled monthly cleanings of storm drain tops in the neighborhood throughout this year, starting in January.
Back in March, the City’s crews visited Sleepy Hollow to visually inspect all the pipes as part of our annual routine cleaning. They used a Vactor truck, a large vehicle with a hose that can remove debris and sediment, to clean the pipes and inlets throughout the entire neighborhood.
One stormwater ditch in the area was cleaned at the end of July. The second was last cleaned in August 2024 and is scheduled for cleaning again this month.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2025 Cox Media Group
