Manatee County addresses impacts of water release in Lake Manatee
Authorities say Lake Manatee’s “emergency spillway” was used as a secondary spillway during Tropical Storm Debby.
Manatee County and the City of Bradenton are expected to declare a local state of emergency ahead of Invest97L on Tuesday morning, despite uncertainty about what the initial weather forecasts may say.
The storm, which if named Helene, could bring significant rainfall to much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, including Manatee County. The SRQ region could see 4 to 6 inches of rain from the storm, according to a weather service advisory Monday.
“The Department of Emergency Management is monitoring the area for potential development,” said Matthew Myers, Manatee County Emergency Management Director. “Models are very broad right now. Over the course of this week, we will better understand the movements and potential impacts.”
More: Will Sarasota and Bradenton experience a hurricane this week? Too early to say, but impacts expected
Also: Helene forecast: Florida will not get out of this crisis. Prepare now for a major hurricane
Manatee and Bradenton express concerns about possible storm
The county released water from Lake Manatee’s drinking water reservoir on the storm’s wettest day, causing flooding in at least some surrounding communities. However, due to poor communication, there was little to no warning to the affected population.
Communications about the leak at Lake Manatee Dam also led to speculation that it contributed to flooding in other parts of the community, but authorities say many of those reports were unrelated and had more local explanations.
The lake’s water level was currently about 37.7 feet above sea level Monday morning, and authorities could lower the level further to 36 feet, the county said in a news release.
In case you missed it: After releasing billions of gallons from the dam, Manatee is unlikely to improve flood protection
Crews recently completed maintenance on the Lake Manatee Dam that was ongoing during Debby, and all three mechanical gates are now operational. The earthen gates used for the dam’s secondary “emergency spillway” were also restored after being in use during Debby.
The county has opened sandbag sites that were already open and are now expanding to include additional sites in at-risk areas. Open sites can be found at mymanatee.org/sandbags.
Residents and visitors should monitor local news and weather reports, as well as county social media accounts, for updates. Official Manatee County storm information can be found at mymanatee.org/storm.
City of Bradenton
The City of Bradenton was one of many communities that struggled with sewage overflows or sewage diversion systems as a result of Tropical Storm Debby, but ongoing problems have since resulted in pollution of the Manatee River and nearby waterways.
The city reported a diversion of nearly 360 million gallons of wastewater from August 4 to September 6, largely due to problems related to the tropical storm and an outdated sewage drainage system.
More: Wastewater discharges from Bradenton continue to impact Manatee River; DEP issues warning letters
City officials have said the cause is outdated underground piping that allows stormwater to seep in and overload the wastewater treatment system, leading to diversions into the Manatee River. Flooding during Debby caused the loss of microorganisms used in wastewater treatment, a problem that will take several weeks to resolve.
The storms that followed overwhelmed the city’s treatment plant again during the process, but this resulted in partially treated wastewater being discharged into the Manatee River as steps in the treatment process were skipped. While the bypass remains open, flow has been stopped for the final discharge. Public works staff kept the bypass open as a precaution in case of rain.
