Hurricane Irma Flood Relief

A 2009 unnamed storm event caused excessive flooding and property damage in the City of Ormond Beach. Approximately 79 structures were impacted by the event with several impassable roads along Hand Avenue, a collector roadway located in the city’s Laurel Creek drainage basin area. With the assistance of FEMA and coordination with various city departments, an upgrade project was undertaken to not only address the flooding issues but also to provide the ability to upgrade utilities within the area, enhance park elements, and bring the existing roadway up to current city standards. As a result, flood relief for Hurricane Irma in 2017 was made possible using new, innovative smart stormwater management solutions and significant damage was avoided.

Project Gallery

Project Features/Advancements

  • Opti, a cloud-based solution for smart stormwater management, partnered with Ormond Beach to implement their Continuous Monitoring and Adaptive Control (CMAC) technology. Ahead of Hurricane Irma’s landfall in 2017, Opti’s technology was able to remotely monitor Orland Beach’s basins and preemptively drain them to accommodate the anticipated rainfall. As a result, the city was able to avoid much of the damage that comes with severe storm flooding. Smart monitoring systems like these are becoming increasingly widespread in stormwater infrastructure.