The Lake Manatee Dam released 18 billion gallons of water during Debby
Flooding in the Parrish area after water was diverted from Lake Manatee
Footage of flooding in the Parrish area captured by local resident Chris Whittaker following a release of water from Lake Manatee during Tropical Storm Debby.
Manatee County officials said Tuesday that enough water was released during Tropical Storm Debby to fill the lake with three manatees.
During Tuesday’s public county commission meeting, residents continued to express their frustration to Manatee County commissioners and staff about the flooding in the area caused by the water discharge.
The county is currently negotiating with a firm to conduct an independent investigation into flooding problems during the tropical storm and has also hired the Tampa Bay Regional Council to serve as a neutral auditor.
“We are following the third-party analysis, the independent investigation,” said Deputy Administrator Evan Pilachowski. “We agree that this is an important step for us to really understand what the impact of the dam was and what the underlying cause was for the flooding that people experienced last month.”
More: Manatee County extends state of emergency and investigates water release from Lake Manatee
Previously: Residents flooded by water discharge in Manatee County in response to Debby
Manatee County released 18 billion gallons of water
Pilachowski confirmed that rainfall during Tropical Storm Debby released 18 billion gallons of water from Lake Manatee.
“During the entirety of Hurricane Debby, we released 18 billion gallons of water that flowed through the reservoir,” Pilachoswki said. “So the 6 billion gallon reservoir is simply not large enough to serve as both a water supply reservoir and a stormwater retention basin. There’s just no way to put 18 billion gallons into a 6 billion gallon reservoir.”
Pilachoswki and other Manatee County officials say the water diversion has not caused atypical flooding in parts of Lakewood Ranch, such as the River Club neighborhood. County officials said water released from Lake Manatee did not flow up the Braden River because that is where the city of Bradenton’s Evers Reservoir is located.
More: Debby destroys homes, residents criticize county officials for releasing water from Lake Manatee
In these cases, residents point to over-development in the area. They believe that the increasing development has caused the floods to now reach their homes rather than the previously undeveloped land.
“My family has lived in the area for over 60 years, we’ve lived in our current home since 2001, and we’ve never experienced flooding like this year,” said Parrish resident Sarah Nelson. “All of the new development has caused all of our previous residents to be affected by flooding. It’s taking away land that the water could have flowed onto, and now it’s being sent right back at us.”
“The water didn’t come into our house, but it destroyed all our equipment. It came into our barn and destroyed our barn,” she said. “Our animals have to be housed in other places because we still can’t bring them home because we’re still under water, and that’s a big financial burden on us. We’ve lost food and equipment. What’s going to happen when the next storm comes?”
Dam at Lake Manatee repaired
Officials continue to dismiss speculation that the water release was caused by structural problems with the dam, saying that too much water simply flowed into Lake Manatee and that there was no problem with structural integrity.
Pilachowski said two phases of dam repairs were completed in recent years. The county completed repairs to a dam wall that stopped water flowing through the earthen structure. The second phase is 99% complete, meaning it is functional, and included repairs to downstream sections of the dam.
He said experts have not established a life expectancy for the dam structure at Lake Manatee.
“They haven’t given an exact number for the expected lifespan, but they haven’t given an expiration date either,” Pilachowski said. “As long as we do the necessary repairs and maintenance, there’s really no reason why this structure won’t serve Manatee County for decades to come.”
