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Water-Related News

Breach may be main culprit of Hurricane Debby flooding in Sarasota

After a more than three-hour workshop to address the flooding brought by Tropical Storm Debby, Sarasota County commissioners arrived at the conclusion that they need at least one more workshop. On Jan. 21, commissioners heard from Public Works director Spencer Anderson, independent stormwater engineer Steve Suau and dozens of members of the public, all weighing in on what led to the historic flooding brought by Tropical Storm Debby, and what may be done to prevent similar future catastrophes. Most heavily impacted were the Laurel Meadows area east of I-75, the Colonial Oaks and Colonial Gables neighbors west of the interstate, and continuing west into the Pinecraft community. What they all have in common is Phillippi Creek, a basin that drains 57 square miles of some of the most densely populated areas in Sarasota County from the Cow Pen Slough into the bay.