Repairs to Lake Manatee Dam complete ahead of potential hurricane weather, county says

Manatee County Government is making storm preparations for a tropical disturbance that is expected to impact Florida later this week as a hurricane.

The preparations include completed repairs to one of three mechanical gates at the Lake Manatee Dam that was not functional during Hurricane Debby, Manatee County said in a news release Monday.

The National Hurricane Center is tracking a tropical cyclone system that forecasters say will strengthen into Hurricane Helene before bringing heavy rain, wind and storm surge to Florida, including the Tampa Bay area. The anticipated storm has prompted an update on Manatee County’s dam and the beginning of an emergency weather response.

During Debby, county officials said record rainfall overloaded the capacity of the Lake Manatee reservoir, which stores about two-thirds of the county’s drinking water.

When the two functioning gates could not keep up with discharging the excess water coming into the reservoir, county officials said they were forced to use the dam’s secondary spillways, which ultimately released about 18 billion gallons of water downstream.

Some residents blamed the release of water from the dam for flooding in and around their homes.

But county officials insisted that the dam was not designed as a flood control device. Officials said flooding was unavoidable due to the record-setting amount of rainfall during Debby, which surpassed what Manatee County’s infrastructure is designed to handle.

They warned that severe flooding could happen again if the county faces similar rainfall amounts during future storms.

Many residents were also frustrated with the county’s emergency notification process before the release of water from the dam .

Acknowledging the issue, county officials said they would work to improve how they notify residents potentially impacted by future releases from the dam.

Manatee County officials: prepare for flooding now

County officials are urging residents to prepare now for flooding ahead of the potential hurricane.

The county has opened 11 sandbag sites in areas at risk for flooding.

Officials also encouraged residents to monitor local news and the county’s social media feeds for updates.

The county’s storm dashboard is live at MyManatee.org/storm .

Lake Manatee may be lowered ahead of storm

County officials maintain Lake Manatee’s water level at around 40 feet during the dry season and around 38 feet during the wet season.

The water level is lowered further when heavy rain is predicted. But officials say the lowest they can risk lowering the lake is around 36 feet to ensure the county has ample drinking water.

As of Monday morning, the lake’s level was just below 38 feet, Manatee County officials said.

“Staff continues to monitor and will make decisions about any further reduction in the lake elevation leading up to the potential storm later this week based on NOAA forecasts,” the county said.

Tropical disturbance forecast

As of Monday afternoon, National Hurricane Center forecasters say Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine is located about 340 miles southeast of Cuba’s western tip with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph.

The system is expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Helene by Tuesday morning and into a hurricane by Wednesday.

Forecasters say the storm could be a major hurricane by the time it reaches the northeastern Gulf Coast on Thursday.

“There is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and damaging hurricane-force winds along portions of the northern and northeastern Gulf Coast, including the Florida Panhandle and portions of the Florida west coast,” the NHC said in an 11 a.m. update. “Although it is too soon to specify the exact location and magnitude of impacts, residents in these areas should monitor the latest forecast updates and ensure that they have their hurricane plan in place.”

Heavy rainfall is predicted to arrive in the Southeast U.S., starting on Wednesday and continuing through Friday, NHC said.

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