- March 19, 2025
This story was updated at 5:30 p.m. March 10.
Palm Coast resident Keith Luzier purchased his home in the W section in 2017.
Two weeks after he moved in, property flooded.
Anytime the city experiences a heavy rainfall, his yard fills up with water. During the last hurricane, Luzier the flooding encroached his covered pool deck and into his home.
Luzier points to an easement behind his home owned by the Florida Department of Transportation as the source of the water.
"It's their property, but it's my problem to fix — to correct the drainage," Luzier said. "It's not their responsibility."
That is what FDOT told Luzier after two members of the department's DeLand operations drainage team came to his home and evaluated the issue on Jan. 7. In an email from Jan. 31, FDOT stated that "Historic drainage flow and the right to maintain a historic drainage flow is governed by the 'reasonable use' rule which allows the upland property owner to allow the historic flow to continue to drain to the lower property so long as the upland owner acts reasonably in allowing the natural flow to continue."
In Luzier's case, the department explained there are natural and/or historic drainage patterns that haven't been interrupted by previous or current roadway construction.
"In addition, in recent years the area has seen some unprecedented rainfall events, which have in turned caused flooding issues even in areas that have not been prone to flooding concern," the email continued. "These historic events have brought to light some changes in land grading that have resulted in drainage issues like yours."
FDOT recommended a swale to stop the flow of water. To do this, Luzier would need to obtain a permit from FDOT.
"While FDOT doesn’t believe that it has the responsibility to address the grading issues that may have caused the drainage problems at your property, we did want to give you the knowledge so that you can adequately and efficiently correct the problem," the email stated.
Since the Jan. 31 email, the last communication Luzier received from FDOT, he has contacted the FDOT secretary, the office of Sen. Tom Leek and the governor seeking help in the matter.
In a statement to the Observer, an FDOT spokesperson said the department has communicated with Luzier regarding further assessment.
"Through our evaluations, including analysis of topographical maps and historical surveys, we've determined that the area's stormwater historically flows from west to east, eventually draining into a roadside ditch along Woodlawn Drive," the statement reads. "During our assessments, we noted that certain changes on private properties, such as grading adjustments related to fence installations, may have affected this natural drainage pattern. The bottom of a shallow swale that allowed for stormwater to run from the west to the east in this particular location appears to have been partially filled. A change to the original water flow path could prevent water from reaching the drainage ditch along Woodlawn Drive."
Throughout this process, FDOT has not "identified any specific FDOT property or activity as the cause of the flooding," the statement said.
Luzier said he doesn't understand why he should have to be the one to correct the problem, as it's originating from FDOT-owned property. Especially, because he's spent over $12,000 to correct the issue from his property, including the recent installation of french drains.
"I feel like they're responsible," Luzier said. "It's their property and they should be able to correct it. I shouldn't have to correct it. I tried on my property, but they have to do something on theirs."
Corrections: The deck of this story used to say that Luzier's home floods. But it's his property that floods regularly; the home flooded after a hurricane. Also, a sentence saying his home was west of U.S. 1 has been deleted.
