Orange County Receives Funding for Flood Mitigation Project

Retention Ponds Project in Orlo Vista moving forward

Orange County, Fla. – Orange County Public Works is moving forward with construction on a $23.4 million project to expand the storage capacity of three critical retention ponds in Orlo Vista.

The project includes increasing the capacity of all three retention ponds by vertical expansion, making each pond about ten feet deeper.  Plans also include reinforcing the banks of the ponds.  The current two pump system will be replaced by three more modern and reliable pumps that will continue to pump at a rate of 40,000 gallons per minute.  These measures will significantly expand the storage capacity of the retention ponds while allowing for water to be more efficiently pumped into Shingle Creek.

The original Engineer’s Cost Estimate for the project, prepared in 2018, was around $10 million.  Orange County secured federal funds to cover roughly 75% of the project cost with the County providing the remaining 25%.

Due to construction cost increases, Orange County submitted a request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a project budget increase which came back at roughly double the estimate from four years ago.  The County worked to secure additional federal funding in the amount of $9.15 million, bringing the total federal contribution to more than $16.7 million.  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is also contributing $2.5 million.  The County will spend an additional $4.3 million on the $23.4 million project so the Orlo Vista improvements are fully funded.

With additional funding now secured, Orange County Public Works plans to begin Phase II – Construction on the project in the first quarter of 2023 with an estimated completion date in 2024.