NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – New Smyrna Beach leaders are aiming to purchase more than two dozen acres of land next to Turnbull Creek to conserve the area and help ease major flooding problems.
Turnbull Creek is a key watershed in the city, moving water through New Smyrna Beach. The creek has flooded during hurricanes, causing nearby homes to take on water.
Right now, crews are dredging Turnbull Creek to improve water flow. The conservation group wants the city to buy three large plots of land to further enhance drainage.
“A lot of things are changing around here and we don’t understand how much of that is due to development,” resident Bryon White said.
Many residents have pushed for a land conservation effort from the city.
“I criticize them for their decision on Deering Park but we want to award good behavior, which is what this is,” White added.
Two months ago, the city approved a 1,600-acre development called Deering Park west of I-95 off State Road 44. With more development on the west side, Turnbull Creek’s role in drainage will become even more important.
“Everything is sloped this direction. So, the importance of this was proved to us during Ian. Everything drained into Turnbull Creek, along with everybody’s trash,” Donna Athearn said.
After Hurricane Ian, flooding stretched for miles around the creek as water backed up.
The Turnbull Creek Preservation Board, led by Athearn, is working to acquire land around the creek.
The city plans to spend over $1 million on three properties for conservation, hoping to prevent more homes from flooding.
“We have to maintain it and be good stewards of it. We want to work with different entities to gain funding to clear out and make this visible for better drainage,” Athearn said.
The land purchase was scheduled for a city council vote Tuesday night but was pulled from the agenda hours before the meeting.
City officials said the landowners need to improve conditions and clean up the land before the city will consider buying it. Several residents pointed to numerous homeless camps on the land as a concern.