MIDWAY, Fla. – When News 6 asked what viewers would like us to focus on in ZIP Code 32771 as part of “WKMG Hits the Road,” Clarissa Butler sent us a message.
“The Midway-Canaan areas of Sanford and the county commissioners plans on the drainage problems that have always plagued this area,” Butler wrote.
Midway is just east of Downtown Sanford, situated between Lake Monroe to the north and the Orlando-Sanford International Airport to the south.
The area is prone to flooding and for years homeowners have dealt with street and yard flooding because of poor drainage.
News 6 has covered the flooding in the past and found a major fix is in progress.
When it rains, homeowners say streets flood, yards flood, and drainage ditches hit capacity.
Still, the area is attracting new residents like Marlene Bettenhausen and her husband who recently bought a home on Grandby Street.
“We love the house, but the problem was this big hole in my front yard,” Bettenhausen said. “That was the only downfall of the house.”
The hole is part of the outdated stormwater drainage system on both sides of her driveway.
“We do have a really bad one. This one is all open,” Bettenhausen said.
[RELATED: Join WKMG at Hollerbach’s German Restaurant in Sanford on Wednesday, April 10]
The Bettenhausens bought the house knowing that a fix is on the way.
Bettenhausen’s street is part of the Midway Basin Drainage Improvements Project.
According to a county memo obtained by News 6, it’s a $32 million project funded with federal, state and county money.
Emory Green Jr. Is the executive director of the Midway Coalition, a non-profit, made up of a group of citizens who have advocated for Midway for years.
“This is a major infrastructure project,” Green said.
The 49-year-old also grew up in Midway, a roughly five-mile area that includes part of the City of Sanford and unincorporated Seminole County.
“We felt our community was not and had not been prioritized,” Green said. “President Biden’s administration, and this money that came from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was instrumental in kickstarting this.”
The drainage improvement project is broken down into phases.
It includes constructing new stormwater facilities, replacing existing pipes, and constructing a new 8-acre floodplain compensation pond, among other improvements.
In front of Bettenhausen’s home, the old pipes will be replaced with much more substantial drainage pipes. New piping will be placed all around the area.
“Oh I think it’s wonderful, because they’re going to come in, they’re going to fix my hole in my yard and they’re paying us an easement amount,” Bettenhausen said.
Bettenhausen says the county is paying her $20,000 for access to her property to make the upgrades and that’s happening for over 170 homeowners across the area.
“I think its wonderful because its going to create jobs,” Bettenhausen said. “We’re going to have a better way of life here because not all the flooding.”
The project was originally planned to be completed at the end of 2024, contingent upon the county getting access to all of the easements.
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