Drainage project in Windermere takes step forward

A project that would relieve flooding and drainage issues along a road in Windermere is continuing to take shape.

Windermere Town Council members voted earlier this month to move forward with adding a new culvert pipe to a drainage project set for the area of First Avenue and Forest Street. The action moves the project, which currently is in the design and preparation stage, closer to being put out for bid.

The addition was a recommendation during a January workshop from Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., which was asked to do a peer review of the original plan for the project done by another firm about five years ago.

Public Works Director Scott Brown said the new pipe for the drainage project was recommended to help handle unprecedented rainfall events.

According to the agenda packet from the Windermere Town Council’s March 10 meeting, the project would alleviate flooding along Forest Street from First Avenue to Second Avenue. The Town Council approved adding the additional pipe, modifying the roadside swales and building the dirt road back up to where it can drain the water properly.

During the workshop earlier this year, the Town Council also expressed interest in getting a more current topographical survey of the drainage basin in the area to find out where the stormwater is coming from. The council agreed earlier this month to use Orange County’s data through LIDAR mapping to get a more up-to-date picture of the area.

Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. also presented suggestions to help fix flooding issues in nearby backyards on three parcels of land — if the residents would seek to have those issues fixed.

“Some of those yards are kind of in a bowl, and the residents felt like some of the water was coming from the roadway, and basically Kimley-Horn identified that their backyard is low and it’s just capturing the road water,” Brown said. 

The drainage project for Forest Street should take care of any water that’s collecting in the right of way, Brown said. He added that construction should start on the Forest Street project at some point in mid- to late-summer.