Here’s how wetlands help control flooding in Central Florida

It goes without saying that Lake Jesup in Seminole County is a lake. But it is also a watershed that consists of dozens of different water sources all eventually flow into a lake: like rivers, ditches, canals, and other lakes.

Lake Jesup is one of five major watersheds in the larger drainage basin Middle basin of the St. Johns River. The St. Johns is Florida’s longest river, flowing 310 miles from its swampy headwaters in Indian River County to Jacksonville, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

Map of the Lake Jesup Basin, one of the five major watersheds in the Middle St. Johns River Basin.

“River of Lakes”

The St. Johns River flows from south to north, which is actually not unusual. Like anything else, rivers follow gravity, taking the path of least resistance.

But because the St. Johns River is very flat, with almost no elevation change from start to finish, it tends to move slowly, making it one of the laziest rivers in the world. according to the non-profit organization St. Johns Riverkeeper. During heavy rainfall, excess water can accumulate and cause the river to rise, especially in the narrows where the St. Johns River narrows.

The St. John’s also widens at various points on its long and winding journey, illustrating the origin of its name Seminole Creek, Welaka: “river of lakes.” Lake Jesup is a good example, according to Alex Roberts, field program manager for the St. Johns River Water Management District.

“Lake Jesup, it’s called a lake, but it’s technically part of a river,” Roberts said. “Looks like a lake, acts like a lake, functions like a lake… It’s just a very wide basin in the river.”

Wetlands: Key to Central Florida’s Water Control

Lake Jesup varies greatly in size, from 8,000 to 16,000 acres, depending on a wide range of water heights.

Exactly two weeks after Hurricane Milton, water levels were still high enough to close the Seminole County Public Wilderness on the north shore of Lake Jesup. The parking lot and access road to the reserve were still flooded, seemingly flowing into the lake itself.

A flooded road appears to disappear into Lake Jesup in Seminole County on Oct. 23, 2024, two weeks after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a deadly Category 3 storm.

Although SJRWMD has some water control structures in the Upper Basin further south, the county’s ability to control water levels in the Middle Basin is more limited.

“(Since) we’re moving into the central part, we don’t have any water control structures in the area,” said Tim Miller, chief of the county’s water resources information office. “In terms of water control in the Central Florida area, we rely on this floodplain and wetlands.”

That’s why SJRWMD works to acquire and preserve wetlands for floodplain conservation. According to data, one acre of wetlands can hold up to 1.5 million gallons of water National Oceanic Atmospheric Association and Environmental Protection Agency.

On Lake Jesup, about 8,500 acres of floodplains around the lake are in public hands between the county and Seminole County.

Lake Jesup varies in size, from 8,000 to 16,000 acres, depending on a wide range of water elevations.

Two weeks after Milton, about 100 feet from Lake Jesup’s typically dry shoreline, the north shore of the lake was completely flooded with several feet of water — meaning the wetlands there were functioning perfectly, Roberts said.

“It’s usually a dry (and) almost grassland-like habitat,” Roberts said. “(But) it’s natural as it should be in a storm. The water is rising, and all the plants that are here are adapted to this flood.”

It’s a real-time visual of why wetlands are so important to flood protection.

“If you built a house here, this is what would happen,” Roberts said. “And that’s what we have to remember, is that some of these areas just have to do it. That’s what we need them to do.”

Ecologist Liz Neckman and Field Program Manager Alex Roberts, both of the St. Johns River Water Management District, view the flooded Jesup Lake wetlands from an airboat on Oct. 23, 2024.

Although many wetlands are protected in Central Florida, these protections do not always stand the test of time. as reported by central Florida media. In just one Volusia County example, an area designated to be left intact as a natural wetland was later added to Sawyers Landing, a subdivision of about 90 homes, according to project plans.

According to county residents like Wendy Anderson, an environmental science professor at Stetson University, the subdivision is one of several recent developments that allegedly pump more water into nearby older neighborhoods that have been built at lower levels.

“The original developers here weren’t going to develop it because it was originally wetlands, but the people they sold it to had no problem with it.” Anderson said earlier this year.

Victoria Trails resident Wendy Anderson shows us a pond that just a few years ago was dry land with cattle. She pointed to the gates and fences sticking out of the water and noticed a water line showing that the water had been high for a long time. "We are looking at the intersection of climate change and overdevelopment," she said. — Victoria Trails resident Wendy Anderson shows us a pond that just a few years ago was dry land with cattle. She pointed to the gates and fences sticking out of the water and noticed a water line showing that the water had been high for a long time. “We’re seeing the intersection of climate change and overdevelopment,” she said.

Today, Sawyers Landing and another new development nearby, Victoria Trails, “create a much, much higher elevation, almost like a dam that kind of pushes the water back,” Anderson said.

“This water used to spread over a much larger wetland area, and now it’s contained or confined to these larger areas,” Anderson said.

Anderson also serves as a member of the Volusia County Environmental and Natural Resources Advisory Committee, OR ENRACwhere she helps draft language for new ordinances to address flooding. Council members nearly dissolved the committee twice this year, most recently in September when the committee narrowly survived a tie vote.

Incumbent Volusia County Council Chairman Jeff Brower, right, meets with John Joslin, co-owner of Common Ground Farm in DeLand, on Sept. 24, 2024. Until about 2019, the land never held water for very long, but now the land is constantly flooding, thanks to more runoff from nearby development, the owners say.

One vote to save ENRAC came from Council Chairman Jeff Brower, who has made a name for himself scorning unlimited development in the county and at times, insisting on temporary moratoriums on construction many residents also ask.

“It’s a group of citizens and they’re really taking their time looking at all the issues … the flooding, the trees, the comprehensive plan,” Brower said of ENRAC. “It’s nice to have a community like this, and it’s a great cross-section (of people).”

Randy Dye is running for Volusia County Board Chair, hoping to unseat incumbent Jeff Brower.

If Brower loses his seat to challenger Randy Dye, ENRAC’s future will look a little more uncertain. While Dye said he welcomes citizen participation, he also said he doesn’t like ineffective committees that are created “just for the sake of meeting.”

“At the end of the day, I think if we can help our government be more efficient by cutting red tape, sure. But man, I — it’s tough,” Dye said. “I would say that would be a very hard thing to say goodbye to.”

Elections on November 5.