APOPKA, Fla. — Hurricane season starts on June 1. 

The clock is ticking, and many Central Floridians are preparing for the season ahead of time. 

What You Need To Know

  • City of Apopka council members approved a project called the Border Lake Pumping Plan 

  • The plan, in collaboration with Orange County, is to manage water levels in a number of Apopka lakes

  • The utility design manager for the city’s public service department says the project will be taken in steps

  • With preliminary approval from the St. Johns Water Management District, Orange County has 90 days to pump the water

In Apopka, the city council approved something called the Border Lake Pumping Plan. 

This plan will help manage water levels in a number of Apopka lakes, officials say.

The project is in collaboration with Orange County, and the overall goal is to control water levels. 

Apopka city council members voted for this unanimously, with a budget of $100,000. 

The utility design manager for the city’s public service department says the project will be taken in steps.

Each lake is two to three feet above the seasonal average. They will be pumped one at a time.

Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore says she’s looking forward to this project.

“Water will be pumped through hoses with pumps through a neighborhood through five lakes and under Piedmont Wekiwa Road into an existing drain well in Lake Page, so it will be quite a feat,” Moore said.

Angelica Jones lives in Wekiva Village.

Back in October, the neighborhood flooded as a result of three surrounding lakes spilling into lower areas.

Jones is also happy with this decision. She says she wants the county to stay ahead of storm season. 

“Understand it’s not going to take the 100-year storm anymore. It’s not going to take all the stars aligning anymore. It’s going to take something significantly less to create that problem for us again,” Jones said.

Moore says the county is filing the paperwork.

She tells Spectrum News 13 they have preliminary approval from the St. Johns Water Management District.

They’re giving the county 90 days to pump the water. 

This is only a short-term solution. Moore hopes to find a long-term solution in the future.