This section includes information about the geography and land use within the watershed, including the historical and current forms of land use.
Source(s): U.S. Department of Commerce
The following information illustrates the change in population within the watershed during the past few decades. Statistics shown are only for the watershed area within the boundary of this Water Atlas.
Watershed | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dona and Roberts Bay Watershed | 11,866 | 21,154 | 34,088 | 37,120 | 41,724 | 48,738 | Graph |
Gulf of Mexico Watershed | 100 | 151 | 344 | 0 | 0 | 1,080 | Graph |
Lemon Bay Watershed | 8,495 | 24,128 | 35,420 | 43,226 | 44,119 | 48,942 | Graph |
Little Sarasota Bay Watershed | 13,717 | 24,265 | 32,397 | 42,296 | 47,229 | 54,628 | Graph |
Manatee River Watershed | 348 | 487 | 3,378 | 990 | 1,507 | 3,335 | Graph |
Myakka River Watershed | 4,031 | 13,720 | 23,248 | 33,279 | 72,317 | 87,511 | Graph |
Peace River Watershed | 19 | 30 | 0 | 16 | 64 | NO DATA | Graph |
Sarasota Bay Watershed | 81,838 | 118,307 | 148,901 | 169,046 | 172,494 | 183,532 | Graph |
Totals for All Watershed Areas | 120,414 | 202,242 | 277,776 | 325,973 | 379,454 | 427,766 |
Source(s): U.S. Department of Commerce
The Florida Natural Areas Inventory is the primary source for information on Florida's conservation lands. The Inventory database includes boundaries and statistics for more than 1,400 federal, state, local, and private managed areas, all provided directly by the managing agencies. National parks, state forests, wildlife management areas, local and private preserves are examples of the managed areas included.
Statistics shown are only for the watershed area within the boundary of this Water Atlas.
2% of the land area within the Sarasota Bay Watershed is under protection.
Ownership | Area (square miles) |
---|---|
Local | 1.58 |
Private | 0.02 |
Rain that falls on land that is in a natural state is absorbed and filtered by soils and vegetation as it makes it way into underground aquifers. However, in developed areas, "impervious surfaces" impede this process and contribute to polluted urban runoff entering surface waters. These surfaces include human infrastructure like roads, sidewalks, driveways and parking lots that are covered by impenetrable materials such as asphalt, concrete, brick and stone, as well as buildings and other permanent structures. Soils that have been disturbed and compacted by urban development are often impervious as well.
Watershed | Total Impervious | Buildings | Parking Lots | Pavement | Sidewalks | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dona and Roberts Bay Watershed | 4,147 8% | 1,853 | 708 | 1,515 | 71 | |
Gulf of Mexico Watershed | 2 1% | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Lemon Bay Watershed | 3,331 10% | 1,739 | 381 | 1,155 | 56 | |
Little Sarasota Bay Watershed | 3,933 15% | 1,879 | 776 | 1,206 | 72 | |
Manatee River Watershed | 486 9% | 101 | 204 | 172 | 10 | |
Myakka River Watershed | 6,081 4% | 2,358 | 338 | 3,336 | 49 | |
Peace River Watershed | 74 8% | 2 | 0 | 72 | 0 | |
Sarasota Bay Watershed | 11,688 19% | 5,416 | 2,563 | 3,467 | 242 |
Source(s): Sarasota County
(Statistics shown are only for the watershed area within the boundary of this Water Atlas)
Land Cover categorizes the land in terms of the observed physical surface characteristics. For example, while the land use may be classified as agricultural, the land cover may be classified as upland or wetland. Learn more about land use and land cover »
The interactive map shown below demonstrates how the use of land within and around Sarasota Bay Watershed has changed over time. Use the slider control at the top left of the map to change the year displayed. Use the visibility slider at the top right to change the opacity of the land use layer.
Year | Urban & Built-up | Agriculture | Rangeland | Upland Forests | Water | Wetlands | Barren Land | Transportation and Utilities | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Acres | % | Acres | % | Acres | % | Acres | % | Acres | % | Acres | % | Acres | % | Acres | % | |
2020 | 56,970 | 59 | 2,986 | 3 | 261 | < 1 | 2,075 | 2 | 25,360 | 26 | 4,889 | 5 | 76 | < 1 | 3,783 | 4 |
2017 | 38,749 | 63 | 1,822 | 3 | 208 | < 1 | 1,756 | 3 | 14,255 | 23 | 2,327 | 4 | 100 | < 1 | 2,511 | 4 |
2014 | 37,987 | 62 | 2,309 | 4 | 430 | < 1 | 1,923 | 3 | 14,131 | 23 | 2,372 | 4 | 109 | < 1 | 2,453 | 4 |
2011 | 38,343 | 62 | 2,215 | 4 | 225 | < 1 | 1,874 | 3 | 14,278 | 23 | 2,229 | 4 | 99 | < 1 | 2,452 | 4 |
2010 | 38,295 | 62 | 2,238 | 4 | 225 | < 1 | 1,902 | 3 | 14,120 | 23 | 2,242 | 4 | 189 | < 1 | 2,504 | 4 |
2009 | 38,234 | 62 | 2,354 | 4 | 189 | < 1 | 1,953 | 3 | 14,095 | 23 | 2,233 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 2,645 | 4 |
2008 | 38,146 | 62 | 2,325 | 4 | 215 | < 1 | 1,977 | 3 | 14,186 | 23 | 2,208 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2,652 | 4 |
2007 | 38,054 | 62 | 2,361 | 4 | 213 | < 1 | 2,011 | 3 | 14,204 | 23 | 2,211 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2,657 | 4 |
2006 | 38,006 | 62 | 2,364 | 4 | 210 | < 1 | 2,061 | 3 | 14,200 | 23 | 2,222 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 2,630 | 4 |
2005 | 37,844 | 61 | 2,497 | 4 | 199 | < 1 | 2,109 | 3 | 14,227 | 23 | 2,227 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 2,602 | 4 |
2004 | 36,879 | 60 | 3,447 | 6 | 210 | < 1 | 2,187 | 4 | 14,117 | 23 | 2,226 | 4 | 66 | < 1 | 2,584 | 4 |
1999 | 35,334 | 57 | 4,646 | 8 | 297 | < 1 | 2,619 | 4 | 13,633 | 22 | 2,352 | 4 | 721 | 1 | 2,113 | 3 |
1995 | 34,517 | 56 | 5,945 | 10 | 337 | < 1 | 2,854 | 5 | 13,445 | 22 | 2,379 | 4 | 108 | < 1 | 2,130 | 4 |
1990 | 32,908 | 53 | 6,338 | 10 | 547 | < 1 | 3,588 | 6 | 13,350 | 22 | 2,870 | 5 | 29 | 0 | 1,845 | 3 |
Source(s): Southwest Florida Water Management District