Manatee County continues to battle a heat wave, drought

The workload for some Manatee County staff members has risen with the temperatures.

Those working in the Community Paramedicine and Utilities departments have been busier with the summer heat. The Community Paramedicine department is currently carrying an extra load of care packages designed to provide relief from the heat and lower the amount of heat-related calls they receive.

High temperatures can cause headaches, exhaustion, dehydration, vomiting, cramps and rashes. When it turns extreme, heat stroke can lead to multiple organ failure and death.

According to the Center for Disease Control, “During 1999–2020, the annual number of deaths from excessive natural heat ranged from a low of 297 in 2004 to a high of 1,153 in 2020.” 

To combat these numbers, the care packages EMS workers are handing out are filled with water bottles, cooling towels, sun hats, sunscreen, bug spray, electrolyte packets and lip balm. 

"Our homeless population in Manatee County has a lot of struggles to begin with, and so the heat just exacerbates all of that," Clinical Supervisor Sonia Shuhart said. "We just want to make sure that we're keeping our residents of Manatee County safe during the summer."

The effort isn't limited to homeless citizens. Packages are being distributed to all those in need. Construction workers or anyone who works outside are also considered part of the at-risk population. 

Just as humans are affected by high temperatures, algae blooms are affected as the water heats up, which keeps the Utilities department busy during summer months, too. 

File photo

“We have an extensive algae monitoring/mitigation program," said Katie Gilmore, the deputy director for utilities. "This includes sampling the lake (Lake Manatee) for algae, then identifying and enumerating any that are present. If algae counts exceed set thresholds, we spray the areas in the lake where they are present with an algaecide to mitigate the bloom.

"During certain times of the year (like January) we might only sample once per month. We then ramp up sampling frequency as we approach our usual algae season. During parts of the spring/summer, we sample twice per week.”

Gilmore said that while the algae is still producing taste and odor compounds, the intensity of algae blooms in Lake Manatee has reduced over the past few weeks due to staff efforts and the natural cycle of the bloom. 

After three rounds of testing, one toxin appeared in the raw lake water, but it was below any level of concern. Gilmore noted that the drinking water was completely free of toxins and should no longer be accompanied by any bad taste or smell.  

Weather also causes utility workers to keep a closer eye on the Lake Manatee Dam. Rain plays as big of a role as heat. 

“During the dry season, we rarely release water through the dam spillway outside of our required daily release in our water use permit,” Gilmore said. “During the rainy season, we purposely keep the lake at a lower level (two-feet below normal pool elevation) to give a buffer from lake level rise during high rain events.”

The coastal areas of Manatee County are under an “extreme” drought, according to the National Weather Service. The only level worse is an “exceptional” drought. Moving inward from the coast, the drought lessen to “severe” through most of the county until reaching the eastern edges, which are the least affected and only labeled as a “moderate” drought.

Year-to-date, NWS has recorded 28.86 inches of rainfall in Bradenton, which is about 11 inches less than normal over the past 30 years. There are no additional watering restrictions in Manatee County right now, but the standard restrictions are in place and listed on the county's website. 

A rainy forecast over the next week may alleviate the problem, which is not an uncommon one for Florida at the start of each summer. 

"The drought is rather significant in terms of just how long it's lasted," NWS Tampa Meteorologist Ali Davis said. "We're accustomed to seeing some drought conditions, but typically, by this stage in the summer and this stage in the rainy season, we've received enough rain to get rid of those drought conditions."

Unlike western states, droughts are less apt to cause wildfires in Florida because of the humidity and occasional thunderstorms. 

"But it is something people need to be cognizant of and think of before setting off fireworks or anything like that," Davis said.