Stormwater and drainage — Malabar, Florida

The Town of Malabar funds drainage through a stormwater utility fee billed as a non-ad valorem assessment, under an interlocal agreement that put the town in the Brevard County Stormwater Utility Program in 2000 (Public Facilities Element, page 6).

Under that agreement the Town of Malabar contracts with Brevard County to administer the utility, carry out annual inspections for credits and send the billing information to the county tax office, while stormwater projects are discussed and proposed by the town itself (Public Facilities Element). The plan describes the county as the stormwater administrator for Malabar, keeping town procedures consistent with county ones. Brevard County created its own Stormwater Utility Fee in 1990, and money collected in each district stays in that district (Brevard County Tax Collector).

The charge is measured in equivalent residential units (ERU). The Malabar Comprehensive Plan, updated in December 2019, records that the fee brought in around $50,000 a year after 2000, that the town raised it to $52 per ERU in 2017, and that it was set to reach $64 per ERU in 2020 (Public Facilities Element, page 6). These are plan-era figures; the current charge is the set amount printed on each tax notice.

The fee appears with other set charges on the annual tax notice. The Brevard County Tax Collector lists the line as Stormwater, Town of Malabar, with the Malabar Town Hall number (321) 727-7764 for questions (Non-Ad Valorem Assessments). The same page explains that non-ad valorem assessments are not based on value but are set amounts, separated from ad valorem taxes on the tax notice by a bold horizontal line. Florida Statutes 403.0893 lets a county or municipality create stormwater utilities and adopt stormwater utility fees, or create stormwater management system benefit areas in cooperation with counties and municipalities under the Interlocal Cooperation Act (F.S. 403.0893).

Rain in Malabar runs through swales, ditches, inlets and pipes into Turkey Creek and the Indian River Lagoon, across three drainage basins (Public Facilities Element, page 6).

Water headed north out of Malabar toward Turkey Creek mixes first with runoff from the extensive Melbourne-Tillman Water Control District system, and the drainage ways also collect runoff from I-95, Highway 1, State Road 514 (Malabar Road), the Town of Malabar and the City of Palm Bay (Public Facilities Element, page 8). The plan notes that water quality tests within Turkey Creek cannot provide valid indicators of the quality of that combined runoff. The Town of Malabar maintains its drainage system except for the Melbourne-Tillman Canal, and the plan lists the Melbourne-Tillman Drainage District and the St. Johns River Water Management District alongside Malabar Public Works as drainage providers (Public Facilities Element, page 1).

On the east side, the town's drainage system includes two outfalls into the Indian River Lagoon: one about a quarter mile south of Malabar Road and one near the junction of U.S. 1 and Rocky Point Road (Public Facilities Element, page 8). The town maintains a Coastal Preservation zone that limits development along a large portion of its Indian River Lagoon frontage. FEMA maps put nearly the entire Town of Malabar in zone X, an area of minimal flood hazard (Public Facilities Element, page 8).

The Town of Malabar budgets $129,000 of stormwater non-ad valorem revenue for fiscal year 2026-27, restricted by use to the Stormwater Fund (FY 2026-27 budget memo, page 9) and spent through department 538, Flood Control (line-item budget, page 31).

Ordinance 2026-08 adopts the Malabar budget with $129,000 in approved expenditures for stormwater projects funded through non-ad valorem fees, alongside $4,414,728 for the general fund (Ordinance 2026-08). The budget memo names the Building Department and Flood Control (Stormwater) as restricted expense departments, each balanced with revenues (budget memo, page 10).

The line items come from the Malabar budget workshop sheet, which totals department 538 Flood Control at $129,000 (line-item budget, page 31). The ILA administrative program line rises from $18,000 to $20,000. Among major debt obligations, the budget memo lists the State Revolving Loan for Stormwater Master Planning and Assets with 14 years remaining ($10,400), the same amount as the department debt line (budget memo, page 10). Stormwater and NPDES permit compliance is one of the contracted professional services the Town of Malabar buys rather than staffing full time (budget memo, page 11).

The Malabar Stormwater Fund also holds reserves of about $230K, a figure from the 2024-25 audit, and the 2026-27 budget does not draw on them (budget memo, page 13).

The Malabar FY 2026-27 Capital Improvement Plan lists six stormwater infrastructure projects under account 538.6300, led by Benjamin with $25,000 set for 2027 (Capital Improvement Plan, page 34).

The Benjamin entry pairs with road work: the Malabar department summary names it the Benjamin Widening Project at $25,000 under 538 Flood Control (budget memo, page 12), and the streets plan separately lists Kramer as a special assessment with Benjamin Widening (Capital Improvement Plan). The other five projects carry no 2027 money and are spread over later years through 2031. The Corey entry is labeled FDEP and described as at Malabar Road.

This pay-as-it-accrues approach is how the Malabar plan describes the program: the Town Council paid civil engineers to identify the most beneficial projects, held workshops to rank them, and has carried them in budgets and capital plans since 2014, scheduling work as stormwater assessment fees accrue (Public Facilities Element, page 7). The same element set a policy to prepare an engineered master plan for stormwater management and drainage facilities by 2013, covering sub-basins, floodways and drainage corridors (Public Facilities Element, page 18).

Development in Malabar that is not exempt needs a Type A stormwater permit, and a project in a flood hazard zone needs a Type B permit, under Article VIII of the Town of Malabar Land Development Code (LDC Article VIII).

Single family homes in Malabar are exempt unless they sit in a flood hazard zone or need a site plan, and so is work that creates no more than 500 square feet of impervious surface, though that work must still retain the first inch of rainfall on site (LDC Section 1-8.6). For permitted projects, the Malabar code designs on-site systems for a 10-year frequency 24-hour duration storm event, with data on a 25-year storm, and sizes off-site improvements for the 25-year storm. Retention or detention with filtration of the first one inch of rainfall is required on site (LDC Section 1-8.7). Street drainage is by grassed swales or curb and gutter that discharges across grass.

A permit application and fee are required for any culvert or driveway in a Town of Malabar right-of-way, and the Town Engineer reviews any project that crosses Town right-of-way to decide whether a culvert is required. A stand-alone culvert job has a ninety-day time limit to complete each project after a permit is issued; a culvert tied to a building permit must be finished before the certificate of occupancy (LDC Section 1-8.13). Endwalls on pipe culverts under 30 inches in residential areas on Malabar lanes and collector roadways must be mitered to the 2021 FDOT Design Standards Index 430 (LDC Section 1-8.14). The permittee must seed and mulch or sod the swale afterward, and must notify the Town at least forty-eight (48) hours before placing concrete in the right-of-way (LDC Sections 1-8.15 and 1-8.17).

When the Town of Malabar finds a driveway culvert in disrepair, the owner must apply for a permit within thirty (30) days of notice and finish within thirty days of the permit; after ninety (90) days of notification, the town may do the work and bill the owner. If a town project forces a culvert replacement, the town pays (LDC Section 1-8.19).

Drainage maintenance problems in Malabar go to Malabar Public Works through its online service request form, which has a Drainage Maintenance Problems category (Public Works).

Malabar Public Works operates from the Public Works Building at 1435 Centre Street, Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and can be reached through Malabar Town Hall at 321-727-7764, option 2 (Public Works). Its listed equipment includes a slope mower, ditch maintenance, culvert installation and grading machinery.

Pollution in the drainage system falls under the Town of Malabar Illicit Discharge Code, adopted as Ordinance No. 2022-04 on April 18, 2022, to control pollutants entering the municipal separate storm sewer system under the federal NPDES program (LDC Section 2-8.01). The Malabar code bans putting oil, paint, pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers, sanitary sewage, and lawn clippings, leaves, branches into the system, and bans connecting a sewage line to it (LDC Section 2-8.07). Violations go before the Malabar special magistrate, each day counts as a separate violation, and abatement costs can become a lien on the property (LDC Section 2-8.13). Penalty money not used for a specific purpose is deposited in the stormwater utility fund (LDC Section 2-8.14).

Last verified: October 13, 2026, on the Town of Malabar website.