Manatee County prioritizes Braden River in stormwater plans

Summerfield Bluffs resident Jill Sauchinitz felt “hopeless” after hearing Manatee County’s presentation of its Hurricane Debby findings Feb. 19.

However, she said her hope was restored after the county's Stormwater Maintenance department revealed a nearly $10 million plan to prevent future flooding. 

Sauchinitz’s home flooded Aug. 5 when Hurricane Debby passed through the area. She’s spent the last eight months fighting for the county to explain what happened and how staff would prevent a recurrence.

“There’s an action plan, funding, a timeline,” Sauchinitz said. “These are important details that were not even an afterthought in the last presentation." 

The county’s goal is to complete the 202 leftover work orders from the 2024 hurricane season ahead of the 2025 hurricane season, which begins June 1. 

Jeff Bare, contracts manager for Public Works, told commissioners that staff alone cannot accomplish such a feat.

“Every day that we use those employees to work on clearing these canals of the debris from last year’s hurricanes means that we get further behind on our regular maintenance activities,” he said.

Maintenance staff’s normal duties include right-of-way mowing, ditch cleaning, pipe flushing, tree trimming and litter removal. 

The county hired Rick Richards, Inc., a wetland and upland restoration services contractor out of Myakka City, to remove approximately 300 downed trees along the banks of the Braden River, Gamble Creek, Buffalo Creek and Cabbage Slough. 

About 800 trees were downed along waterways after hurricane season, so staff cleared a good portion of them, but Bare said the targeted trees are spread across 112 locations that are "the worst of the worst." 

The locations are too difficult to access without specialized equipment.

On March 25, commissioners approved an additional $2 million of funding, which will be transferred from the Solid Waste fund to the Stormwater Management fund.

Discussions on a dedicated stormwater fund are planned for a special work session April 2. 

The $2 million will cover the first phase of the nearly $10 million plan in areas designated as “high priority.” 

Sauchinitz called the plan "really ambitious, but a step in the right direction."

“I feel like I’ve been heard and acknowledged and supported,” she said. 

County Administrator Charlie Bishop is sending staff out to walk the banks of the Braden River with Sauchinitz, so they can physically see what she’s been repeating in emails and in commission meetings for months now:

The debris and overgrowth is so thick in some areas of the river that you can’t see the water underneath it. 

What $2 million will and won’t cover

The plan does not include dredging the Braden River or directly addressing the two trouble spots Lakewood Ranch identified in its own Hurricane Debby investigation. 

Rex Jensen, CEO of Lakewood Ranch’s parent company Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, told the East County Observer in February that his team’s investigation identified a sediment buildup underneath the bridge on River Club Boulevard and a tee box at The River Club Golf Course that narrowed the river’s path when installed.

Jensen believes those two issues were major contributing factors that led to the flooding in Summerfield. 

Manatee County has openly disagreed, stating during its February presentation that the flooding was caused by an unprecedented rain event in an area that has historically flooded.

Instead, the county is targeting the entire “Summerfield portion” of the river, which staff designated as between Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and River Club Boulevard.

The currently approved plan only addresses the banks of the river. The contractor will remove trees and debris, but will not touch the bottom of the river. 

Two sets of Lidar data, which measures ground elevations, show sedimentation building up underneath the bridge on River Club Boulevard, particularly on the north side. From 2004 to 2018, the data shows the embankment is 3 to 4 feet higher. 

That sediment will stay put, at least for now. 

Deputy County Administrator Evan Pilachowski said staff is researching the subject, but removing sediment is a complicated process that requires special permitting. 

It’s also a more costly endeavor. 

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

Thomas Gerstenberger, stormwater engineering division manager for Manatee County, estimated that removing 3 feet of sediment from the Summerfield portion of the river, along with any necessary trees and vegetation, would cost between $750,000 and $1 million. 

With the current plan, $494,175 covers the Summerfield portion of the Braden River, Buffalo Canal from Ellenton Gillette Road to Interstate 275 and Cabbage Slough from Interstate 275 to Buffalo Canal. 

The rest of the nearly $2 million request will pay to clean up Gamble Creek in Parrish, another hard hit area during Hurricane Debby.

Looking ahead

The tee box is also staying put for now. 

Tony Soletti, the current owner of The River Club Golf Course, did not install the tee box. He acquired it with the overall purchase of the golf course in 2018. 

Soletti considered having his staff remove the tee box, but ultimately decided it would be best to wait and let the county make the decision. 

Ogden Clark, Public Works’s communications coordinator, said that if staff determines the tee box to be an issue, they will need the commission’s approval and an easement from Soletti to perform the work. 

Courtesy image

“We’re cooperative,” Soletti said. “If the community needs us to transfer some land to the county to make the world a better place, my family is on board with that.” 

However, he agrees with the county that the tee box was not a major factor in the flooding because the entire golf course was under water in every direction during Hurricane Debby. 

Soletti's account of the river is the same as Sauchinitz's account. He said if you walk in either direction from his course, you'd more likely think you were walking through the woods than a river bed. 

Jensen was out of the office when the East Count Observer reached out for comment, but a representative offered this response on behalf of SMR: 

"SMR appreciates the county’s efforts to assess stormwater management impacts and its commitment to funding the cleanup of the Braden River. We look forward to follow up conversations with the county to ensure channels and rivers are maintained to help prevent future flooding."

The county's plans for the Braden River only start at Summerfield, they don't end there.

The Summerfield portion accounts for 1.2 miles, but the overall $9,686,507 includes an additional 4.25 miles of the river from Interstate 75 to Lorraine Road. 

Clearing those remaining two portions of the river is estimated to cost $4,347,147.