Citrus County Receives $262,650 Grant from FDEP's Resilient Florida Program

Funding from the Resilient Florida Grant Program will help Citrus County address the impacts of flooding in the Tsala Apopka Chain of Lakes and other county waterways.

The Citrus County Board of County Commissioners is proud to announce that the organization has been awarded $262,650 in grant funding from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), as part of their Resilient Florida Grant Program. This funding, secured through a partnership between the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (TBRPC) and Citrus County’s Department of Management & Budget, will help the county to effectively address the impacts of flooding and sea level rise through creation of a Citrus City-County Vulnerability Assessment.

The Resilient Florida Program ensures a coordinated approach to Florida’s coastal and inland resiliency, and enhances state efforts to protect inland waterways, coastlines, and shores, which serve as invaluable natural defenses against sea level rise. Program grants are available to counties, municipalities, water management districts, flood control districts, and regional resilience entities.

“The news of this grant award is significant,” said County Administrator Steve Howard. “Completion of this assessment will allow Citrus County to apply for future project funding and implementation.”

The planned Vulnerability Assessment will analyze the critical assets in the county for their vulnerability to tidal flooding, current and future storm surge, rainfall, and sea level rise, and inform future infrastructure investments. The assessment will also make Citrus County eligible for Resilient Florida Grant Program project funding for flood reduction projects. Once finalized, the assessment can be integrated into the county’s Local Mitigation Strategy.

Public outreach will be conducted throughout the project, and citizens of unincorporated Citrus County and the city of Inverness are encouraged to participate. Residents of the city of Crystal River should work directly with their municipal government, as they will be conducting their own assessment.
More information about this process will be forthcoming from TBRPC and Citrus County. For more information about the Resilient Florida program, please visit https://floridadep.gov/ResilientFlorida