Avalon Park is an unincorporated, New Urbanist community east of Orlando, built around a Town Center with condos, apartments, townhomes and traditional homes. Construction was already underway in 1999.
Too much water, too fast
In August 2019, more than 2 inches of rain in about five hours flooded streets and sidewalks in Avalon Park. The county said the drainage systems were surcharged with high water, found no blockages, and called it too much water too fast. Residents said it happens a couple of times a year. That is why roof water should leave quickly and go where it will not add to street flooding.
Near the Econlockhatchee floodplain
Avalon Park is in east Orange County, where the Econlockhatchee River floodplain is protected in the large Hal Scott Regional Preserve and Park, an area that can become impassable in the summer rainy season. Gutters will not change that, but they matter more when the whole area is wet.
Homes now about 25 years old, with porches and dormers
A 2000-era report on the project described houses finished in two of 15 planned villages, with traditional-style architecture. The earliest homes are now about a quarter century old. Traditional rooflines with porches, dormers and valleys send water to a few spots, and those are where older gutters fail first. Check the fascia and corners, and where a porch roof meets a wall.
Close spacing and attached homes
Townhomes and homes on smaller lots leave little room between buildings. Downspout extensions should not drain onto a neighbor's lot. Orange County's lot grading policy for new infill homes asks for assurance that runoff will not be directed toward neighbors, which is a good guide for any lot.
