Manatee and Sarasota counties saw some significant flooding from Hurricane Debby – although I think it was technically a tropical storm when it hit us. The storm really demonstrated the impact of the rapid building in the area – as well as the incompetence of many elected officials.

This was particularly true in regards to the “strategic release” of water from the Lake Manatee dam. Here’s coverage from the Bradenton Times and here’s another article from the Florida Trident. I’ll be quoting from both.

Manatee County officials have known for years that an aging and problem-plagued dam at Lake Manatee posed a threat to public safety, but reduced outflow 48 hours before Debby instead of increasing it ahead of forecasted rainfall, according to records obtained by the Florida Trident. 

According to engineering reports reviewed by the Trident, the only option to prevent a catastrophic collapse of the entire 6 billion-gallon reservoir was to remove earthen plugs above an emergency spillway just to the north of the dam. The plugs and emergency spillway were designed to relieve pressure on the dam by opening an additional channel to discharge water.

The engineering feat had never been done before during a rain event. No one knew for certain what would happen. But officials did know one of three gates at the dam was inoperable, restricting the ability to discharge water.

From Bradenton Times:

On Monday morning, as the county entered its second day of near continuous rainfall, residents east of I-75—with addresses in Bradenton, Parrish, and Myakka—received the first emergency alert from Manatee County Government warning them of a potentially life-threatening situation.

It was approximately 10:30 a.m. when the county issued  the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) message:

“Manatee Dam doing strategic release to cause dangerous swift moving water and flooding. Leave area NOW. Shelters available. Highwater vehicles being staged in area. Call 311 for information. Use 911 for emergencies ONLY.”

Many residents who received the alert took to social media, posting to ask friends and neighbors what the alert meant and whether they needed to evacuate.

Complicating the situation was the fact that the county’s official social media pages did not mention the IPAWS alert or the anticipated release at the dam. Nothing was posted on the county’s Public Safety Department’s social media accounts, either.

The Manatee County Government website was also void of information about the alert.

Local authorities were less than helpful about what to do and where to go. People were also told to evacuate and ran into high water – and then had to be rescued.

This is one of the reasons I’m voting against most of the incumbents on the county commission. They’ve been so recklessly in the pocket of the developers that they haven’t built up the infrastructure to deal with things like storms.

Also, whoever told new residents that they didn’t need flood insurance fucking lied to them. This is Florida. You need flood insurance. Especially when all the new construction isn’t able to handle all the water.