Sarasota and Manatee counties haven t seen much rain this month. And starting last Tuesday, conditions seemed to change overnight in Sarasota.
Record demand for water led some residents to use drinking water to keep their lawns green. This caused water outages and low pressure problems for anyone living north of Bee Ridge Road.
The next day, the county declared a drought emergency and urged residents to conserve water for the next week. The persistent dry weather and an increased chance of wildfires also led authorities to impose recreational burn bans across the region.
But the dry conditions didn t surprise forecaster Rodney Winn of the National Weather Service, who said that the area’s below average rainfall this year is uncommon but not extraordinary. Some relief might come as early as this weekend, he said. The region is expecting a 20% to 30% chance of rain starting on Sunday and lasting throughout the next week, a departure from the near zero daily chances tha
We have plenty of water, we just can t maintain the pressure in the system because of increased demands, said Mike Mylett, the county s utility director.
The county said it is working to return water pressure to normal levels but due to multiple external factors such as the dry weather and customer usage, it is difficult to estimate when that may occur.
The majority of the demand for water in Sarasota County is being used for irrigation, Mylett said. Because reclaimed water systems are running low, residents are turning to potable water to water lawns, wash cars and to pressure wash.
Manatee County s treatment facility is only able to produce about 65% of the permitted capacity. As a result, utility officials have asked Sarasota County to reduce the amount of water it is taking, so Manatee County may continue to service internal customers.
The challenges in the potable water system have grown considerably in recent days, with several residents reporting little to no water.
In an email to Sarasota County Commissioners, public utilities director Mike Mylett said Tuesday saw huge demands on the system. Today has been a record day for the amount of water demand in our system, over 27 million gallons and rising, Mylett said. Pressures in the northern portion of our service area (north of Bee Ridge Road) continue to trend below what our customers have become accustomed to receiving.
FLORIDA governor Ron DeSantis has ordered residents to evacuate as a reservoir threatens to burst sending a
catastrophic 20ft wall of polluted wastewater crashing through homes.
Officials in Tampa Bay warned an imminent breach at an old phosphate plant could gush out 340million gallons of water in minutes.
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Officials have warned Tampa Bay could be flooded by 20ft wall of polluted water from a collapsing reservoirCredit: WFLA
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There are fears the leaking gypsum stack could collapse at any momentCredit: Facebook
DeSantis declared a state of emergency in Manatee County after a leak at the wastewater pond threatened to flood homes and roads with billions of liters of contaminated water.
Longboat Key
Parks and Natural Resources Director Charlie Hunsicker has been working to bring a countywide trail system to Manatee County for 25 years.
From Lakewood Ranch to Robinson Preserve, the county has its share of trail systems located within specific parks or communities. However, unlike some neighboring counties, it does not have a county trail system that connects and stretches across different areas.
Hunsicker said the county s staff is optimistic it can create a trail system, called the Gateway Trail, that winds through much of Manatee County and stretches more than 20 miles. It would connect with Sarasota County’s Fruitville Road and Payne Park to the south and Hillsborough County to the north.