Officials, residents wade into flooding issues

Like clockwork, as the weather starts to warm up and snowbirds head north for the summer, heavy rain leads to flooding many streets in the city of Sarasota.

Just because it’s become a regular occurrence every year, however, doesn’t mean that city officials and residents are willing to accept the conditions. At meetings of the Coalition of City Neighborhood Associations, neighborhood representatives regularly note that flooding affects their residential streets — particularly in neighborhoods closer to the water, such as Harbor Acres.

At the May 18 City Commission meeting, Commissioner Susan Chapman called attention to the issue of street flooding. After one Saturday morning “summertime deluge” of rain, she said, there was significant flooding in the area of the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex and near the U.S. 41 and Gulfstream Avenue intersection.

“It’s a safety hazard as well as a drainage issue that we should really be paying attention to,” Chapman said.

Although this is not a new issue, both residents and Chapman pointed a finger at one factor they felt was amplifying the effects of street flooding: construction. Residents say the increased market for new homes has made matters worse, and Chapman said the flooding issues were most severe in the shadow of the construction site for the Vue Sarasota Bay project.

“It seems to have gotten worse since the construction of the Vue started,” Chapman said. “I’m very concerned, because the water is getting really deep there. “

The city’s stormwater system is managed by Sarasota County. Molly Williams, the county’s stormwater manager, acknowledges that flooding is an issue in the city — particularly downtown, which developed before comprehensive stormwater management regulations were established.

“Unfortunately, it’s an area that’s highly urbanized and was built at a time when there weren't requirements like there are currently,” Williams said.

Although increasing the urban density can make matters worse, Williams said most municipalities will recommend a low-impact design and have their own mitigation standards to make sure the system is operating as well or better than it did before the new construction.

The county itself doesn’t respond to specific complaints in the areas for which it manages stormwater infrastructure, but Williams said staff keeps a close eye on which portions of the system need maintenance work. Again, in downtown Sarasota, much of the system is aging — which makes matters worse, but is a complicating factor that the county monitors.

“We evaluate which system is most likely to need some additional maintenance by looking at various factors,” Williams said. “Age and material are two of the main factors.”

Although Chapman and others may not be satisfied with the status quo, the county is focused on making the level of service for stormwater management doesn’t deteriorate.

“We’re working proactively to make sure the system continues to operate,” Williams said.