Follow Phillippi Creek dredging updates with new county website

Sarasota County government has launched a webpage to provide residents with updated information on the Phillippi Creek dredging project. The page includes video updates of the project, answers to frequently asked questions and a map of the project area. 

The page is at SCGov.net/PhillippiCreek.

Courtesy image

Through this page, the public may also find links connecting them to the water atlas, a fact sheet and two maps, one of the dredging areas east and west of of U.S. 41.

West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND) is managing the current portion to dredge project from the mouth of Phillippi Creek to Tuttle Avenue to ensure a 30-foot-wide, 4-foot-deep mean low water area along the centerline of the creek. 

The drainage capacity of Phillippi Creek contributed to severe flooding during Tropical Storm Debby.

The WCIND will fund the lower portion of the dredge from the mouth of the creek to approximately one-fourth of a mile east of U.S. 41. Sarasota County will fund the upper portion of the project, continuing north to Tuttle Avenue at a cost of $16 million.

According to Sarasota County, there are 44,818 homes within the Phillippi Creek basin and 2,108 commercial properties. 

After awarding dredging contracts, they will develop an estimated project timeline. There will be maintenance of a minimum 10-foot buffer from docks and other structures. This means in some areas where the creek narrows, the intended width of the dredge may not be achievable.

Phillippi Creek is a 7.2-mile stream located in the Little Sarasota Bay Watershed, flowing from the Celery Fields east of I-75 to Roberts Bay. The county’s stormwater infrastructure drains into the creek and ultimately into Little Sarasota Bay.