Water bodies, watersheds and storm water
In this section
Middle St. Johns River Basin Home
Deep Creek
Deep Creek is in portions of southern Volusia and northeastern Seminole counties, covering almost 274 square miles. Deep Creek provides a connection to the St. Johns River for Lake Ashby in Volusia County. Another major feature within the Deep Creek subbasin is Lake Harney, which is actually a widened section of the St. Johns River that flows into and out of Lake Harney. Lake Harney is a shallow lake, and is just one of the two lakes that form within the St. Johns River and are located within the middle basin — the other is Lake Monroe located further downstream.
Challenges
The Deep Creek subbasin is now mostly undeveloped, although development pressures in the area are increasing and are predicted to continue to increase in the future.
To accommodate growth in central Florida population and to move the tourist traffic, road improvements are ongoing in the area. As road improvements continue, more development is expected, placing greater demands on the area’s waterways and water resources.
Though significant areas are currently undeveloped, some residents in the subbasin experience flooding because structures were built in the 100-year floodplain before regulations were established that govern construction in wetlands and low-lying areas. Water quality problems have been identified in the Deep Creek subbasin, and the St. Johns River Water Management District is performing scientific evaluations and computer model simulations to help identify the problems and to recommend actions to address the issues.
Finding solutions
With the area’s limited development, local governments, agencies and individuals have an opportunity to preserve the area’s wetlands. Through a variety of projects, the District and its partners are raising funds to buy environmentally sensitive land and open it for passive recreation, encouraging large landowners to conserve property as a “conservation corridor,” enhancing wetlands and floodplains, and preserving habitat for scrub jays and other wildlife.
Contact information
For more information about Deep Creek, contact Mary Brabham, basin program manager, at (407) 659-4829 or mbrabham@sjrwmd.com.
Updated on 5-14-2010
