Project Grace – A Water Supply Project in Daytona North, Florida

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2013

Project Grace is a Flagler County initiative launched in 2012 to provide a reliable source of potable water to the residents of rural Daytona North, Florida. As a community that was particularly hard-hit by the recent economic recession, many residents in Daytona North were unable to properly maintain the expensive reverse-osmosis systems required to bring groundwater to potable standards. Flagler County learned of this problem through a series of Town Hall meetings held by the County Commissioner representing the rural western portion of the county. As a result, the County took action to convene a team of County staff, local civic and charitable organizations, and other community partners to address the water supply problem in Daytona North. Under Project Grace, Flagler County constructed a community well at a public park, which serves free potable water on-demand, 24 hours a day to the residents of Daytona North. Additionally, the facility is connected to a community center on the park property, which previously had no potable water. Project Grace was constructed using no tax dollars – contributions for the design, permitting, and construction of the facility came exclusively from private, non-profit, and individual donors. Flagler County coordinated the construction of the facility and has assumed the facility’s ongoing maintenance.