BRADENTON, Fla. – Manatee County residents fed up with the flooding addressed county commissioners at their regular meeting Tuesday.

“There has never been a river in my house,” said one resident as he showed the commission pictures of his flooded neighborhood.

“We have never seen flooding like this year,” added a Parrish resident at a public hearing.

“Under your leadership, Manatee County has allowed new construction without paying due attention to drainage and roads,” another told commissioners.

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A discussion of flooding and the Lake Manatee Dam was not on the agenda Tuesday, but county experts addressed some of the concerns raised by residents.

According to officials, the county released 18 billion gallons of water through the reservoir during Debby, even though it has a capacity of only a third of that amount.

“The reservoir with its 22.7 billion litres is simply not large enough to serve as both a water supply reservoir and a rainwater retention basin,” Evan Pilachowski, deputy district administrator of Manatee County, said. “There’s just no way to put 18 billion gallons into a 6 billion gallon reservoir. So in those cases, we have no choice but to let the water flow through and protect the dam infrastructure to ensure that the county continues to receive water.”

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The county reiterated its stance Tuesday, saying that the release of water from the dam did not cause flooding in Lakewood Ranch. However, officials acknowledged that the county’s communication with residents downstream could be improved in the future.

“We have our deepest sympathies and know that many of the residents who experienced flooding during the storm and the subsequent rains are suffering greatly,” Pilachowski said.

In addition, there was a discussion about social media after comments were disabled on the Manatee County, Florida government’s Facebook page. On Tuesday, the commission asked the district attorney to review the county’s social media procedures so commissioners can discuss whether to re-enable comments at their next meeting in September.

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