'Oldest Egyptian irrigation system in U.S. soil': NSB's Turnbull Canal gets $1.3 million grant

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — The irrigation system that made Egypt's Nile River an agricultural success in ancient times did not die with that civilization.

It was in fact brought to the United States, where the country's oldest of these systems is located right here in Volusia County.

The Turnbull Canal is one of the several historical landmarks in New Smyrna Beach, where it was built in the late 1700s as part of the Turnbull Settlement.

But in the hundreds of years since, the canal has seen many changes as development in and around the city continues to pose environmental challenges. The canal's water flow has been significantly affected by sediment accumulation.

However, the city recently received news it hopes will help mend the situation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded the city a $1.35 million grant to help clean and restore 1.3 miles of the Turnbull Canal from south of State Road 44 to Old Mission Road.

“That’s a big win,” said Donna Athearn, chair of the city’s Turnbull Creek Land Preservation Committee. “This was a huge accomplishment for the Turnbull Creek to get recognized. … It’s finally getting some attention from the USDA for its role in our watershed.”

She said she fought for the grant, which is part of the department’s Emergency Watershed Management Program, for about eight years.

“Without that creek, New Smyrna doesn’t flow,” Athearn said regarding the canal's impact on flooding.

Mayor Fred Cleveland praised Athearn's "research and stewardship" in order to "make the grant a reality to all of us."

"This canal system is an essential component of our stormwater management infrastructure," Cleveland said. "We are grateful and delighted with the wisdom of the USDA leadership to provide funds to restore this historic and vital drainage feature to New Smyrna Beach."

Turnbull Canal in the 1700s

Dug by hand in a time before modern machinery using ancient Egyptian methods of crop irrigation, the nationally registered network of historic canals, originally approximately 6 miles long in total, is one of the most influential infrastructure upgrades that resulted from the Turnbull Settlement, according to the city.

When Scottish physician Andrew Turnbull arrived in the region, he and his partners dealt with several difficulties, including the fact that the only crop they could capitalize on during the settlement's early years was indigo, Athearn said.

With precarious living conditions and the threat of mosquitoes to local crops, Turnbull needed to do something to improve the situation.

That is when he took inspiration from the Egyptian river’s irrigation system and brought it to New Smyrna.

When it was first built in the 1700s, the creek was used as a waterway for lumber, sugar cane, rice, hemp, indigo and other crops to be moved around the region, and consequently served as a mode of transportation within the colony as well.

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More than 1,400 Minorcans, Corsicans, Greeks and Italians came to the region during the time in search of opportunities as indentured servants, according to the city, and began working along the creek.

But after nine years of harsh treatment under Turnbull, drought, and crop failures, the colony’s population fell to about 600, according to the city.

What will restoring the Turnbull Canal look like?

Hundreds of years later, the goal is to return the canal as close to its original state as possible.

With the first and most difficult obstacle out of the way (getting the grant money), the next step, Athearn said, is to find a maintenance program for the canal, “so that after storms we can walk back in there and see if there are any trees or blockage along the way.”

Part of the reason why the canal's sediment accumulation has rarely been addressed, Athearn said, is the ever-changing city management teams, whose different policies have led to the canal being “neglected” over the years.

She said it would be a good idea to continue working with both federal and state government agencies to explore more funding opportunities for projects related to the Turnbull Canal — the site is recognized as a national historic site, according to the National Park Service.

Last year’s Tropical Storm Ian brought additional sedimentation and vegetation into the canal, which further inhibited its flow, Athearn said.

“When a storm surge raises all that water and floats over a swamp, any ditch that begins to accumulate debris is allowing it to stay there,” she said. “Everything poured into that creek, blocking flow, and filling in the land.”

Several parts of the canal are also in need of cleaning and dredging, and not even the full 1.5 miles the grant was approved for will necessarily be addressed, according to Assistant City Manager Ron Neibert.

“The project is not to dredge the entire canal, but to focus on those areas that had significant impact because of the storm,” Neibert said.

As part of the agreement, the city will receive technical and financial assistance from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. Agency representatives will come to the city to survey the area and determine which segments along the canal are in greater need of cleaning.

“From there, they will authorize us to proceed with the project, and we will go out for bid.”

The city also made a $407,057 contribution toward the project from its stormwater utility fund, according to officials.

Atheran said she would take canoe trips along the canal when she was younger, floating along what she said feels like “one of the oldest” parts of Florida – something she hopes will happen after the canal is restored.

“We could make this what I call the Turnbull experience,” she said. “It’s a great feeling to see it finally coming around. I’m just stoked.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NSB awarded $1.3 federal grant for Turnbull Canal restoration project