Neighbors fed up with flooding near Lake Manatee Dam

This week brought heavy rainfall to neighborhoods across the Tampa Bay Region. People in Manatee County contacted ABC Action News because they're concerned the Lake Manatee Dam won’t hold up.

“It didn’t alarm me until I realized very quickly that the water started to drastically rise," said Lindsay Ryan, who has property near the dam. "It went from this to everything you see. Up to my boots in this driveway was flooded, all of my pastures were flooded.”

She said it was nerve-wracking to watch the rising water quickly move towards the barn where she kept her animals.

“At that point, god forbid the barn had started to flood. I had no way to get my animals out. There was not enough time,” Ryan said.

Now, residents are criticizing Manatee County officials because water was released from the dam with little warning after Debby.

“The dam and Lake Manatee continue to function as designed," said Evan Pilachowski, the deputy county administrator. "They are structurally sound. There’s no risk of any breach of the dam.”

County officials extended the state of emergency for another week.

Katrina George told the ABC Action News I-Team she has been fighting for a fix from Duke Energy after two years of frequent power surges and fried appliances, phones, and televisions.

More Sarasota and Manatee County News from ABC Action News

• Neighbors fed up with flooding near Lake Manatee Dam

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• 'Don't just rely on the flood maps': Nowhere in Florida is safe from floods

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• Lake Manatee Dam cannot hold anymore water as rain causes flooding to continue

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• Sandbag locations open Sarasota County and North Port due to heavy rains

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