MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. – Heavy rains have hit residential areas of the Tampa Bay area this week, and people in Manatee County have reached out to ABC Action News with concerns the Lake Manatee dam won’t hold.
“I was not concerned until I noticed very quickly that the water level started to rise drastically,” said Lindsay Ryan, who owns property near the dam. “It went from that point to everything you see. The driveway was flooded up to my boots, all my pastures were flooded.”
She said it was nerve-wracking to watch the rising waters quickly approach the barn where she kept her animals.
“At that point, God forbid, the barn started flooding. I had no way to get my animals out. There wasn’t enough time,” Ryan said.
Now residents are criticizing Manatee County authorities for releasing water from the dam after Debby without much warning.
“The dam and Lake Manatee continue to function as designed,” said Evan Pilachowski, deputy county administrator. “They are structurally sound. There is no danger of a dam failure.”
The district authorities extended the state of emergency for another week.
Katrina George told the ABC Action News I-Team she has been fighting for a solution from Duke Energy for two years after experiencing frequent power outages and burned-out appliances, phones and televisions.
Power surges cost Florida homeowner thousands of dollars, she fears for her family’s safety
