A Florida county that has faced repeated neighborhood flooding is directing a major share of disaster funding toward the less glamorous side of storm preparation: storm drains, pipe replacements, and automated outfalls.
$125 million in county-backed projects is moving ahead in Manatee County as officials pair storm repair work with upgrades intended to blunt damage from future heavy rain and hurricanes.
Here's what to know
After hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton, Manatee County has lined up 22 projects for this funding round, 12 run by the county and 10 more spread across six cities and one town, according to WWSB. Stormwater improvements and other flood control work are set to receive much of the allocation.
Commissioner Tal Siddique said the spending effort reflects a problem facing the region.
"I think the situation along the coast of Florida across our county and in other counties is that our infrastructure is aging, storms are getting worse, and we're experiencing even more severe storms and even flood events year after year," Siddique said, per WWSB.
Officials say the dollars are meant to do two jobs at once: address storm damage and strengthen neighborhoods that repeatedly see flooding during major weather events.
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More background
Repeatedly inundated neighborhoods are at the center of the project list, including a Pierce Drain proposal that would spend about $25 million on automated outfall structures.
Siddique said Center Lake, where flooding happens over and over, stands to benefit from that Pierce Drain work. Better drainage there, he added, could help keep homes and streets accessible during the next storm.
Siddique said the county has put more than $10 million into clearing much of the stormwater network before heavy rain events. Even with that work, he said, the system is still short of the condition county leaders hope to achieve.
What's being done?
Commissioner George Kruse said the county should devote almost the entire funding pot to drainage and stormwater work because, in his view, flooding infrastructure is the main issue when storms hit, WWSB reported.
He said the dollars should stay centered on that need instead of being divided among projects outside the county's core flooding problems.
"We started running to Tallahassee, running to D.C. to get this money. Then we get a quarter of a billion dollars sitting here, and we're going to be like, oh, let's build some affordable housing and let's give some to a nonprofit. Let's build a logistics center. Let's buy some generators. No, this money should go to what we keep arguing about in Tallahassee and D.C.: our number one need," Kruse said.
Current efforts have centered on clearing stormwater systems; from there, officials plan to move into bigger infrastructure jobs, including new pipe systems, flood-prevention technologies, and automated outfall structures.
County leaders are positioning this round of federal disaster aid to cover storm recovery while also improving flood control in the neighborhoods that have struggled most.
Siddique said the package is significant but insufficient on its own.
"But we still need a lot more money. And it's in the hundreds of millions of dollars to get us to where we would love to be, which is that every system is maintained, cleaned, has an annual cleaning plan. We've replaced stormwater systems with new pipe systems. We've installed flood prevention technologies, but we're not there yet. However, with the $125 million, we're going to make a massive difference in some communities," Siddique said.
Where can I learn more?
Other communities across Florida and beyond are grappling with the same flood control and storm preparedness challenges Manatee County is trying to address.
• Across Florida, homeowners are adopting crucial flood protection methods against hurricanes.
• Florida officials rejected multimillion-dollar federal funding meant to strengthen disaster preparedness before future storms.
• Central Florida faced a growing flash flood threat as tropical moisture built before hurricane season.
• In Hoboken, residents saw streets flood after contractors paved over critical storm drains.
• Massachusetts communities secured nearly $4 million for local projects aimed at reducing flood risks.
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