Regular updates to be provided, staff says
On Friday, Oct. 31, Sarasota County staff announced that a webpage had been created on the county’s website to provide continuous updates on the Phillippi Creek dredging project, which is expected to get underway this month.
The webpage may be found at scgov.net/phillippicreek.
The page will include video updates of the work, the county advisory noted. It already features a frequently asked questions (FAQs) document, as well as maps of the project areas, the advisory added.
Among the FAQs, the webpage says, “Phillippi Creek is a 7.2-mile stream located in the Little Sarasota Bay Watershed. The creek flows from the Celery Fields to Roberts Bay. In regard to stormwater, the county’s stormwater infrastructure outfalls (drains) to Phillippi Creek and ultimately Little Sarasota Bay. The creek delivers water downstream to Little Sarasota Bay and is an important natural outlet for stormwater.”
One question asks, “What does Sarasota County’s Stormwater do for maintenance?” The answer is, “The Stormwater Operations team and its contractors maintain nearly 300 miles of open drainage in roadside ditches and swales, over 400 miles of closed drainage pipeline and 20,994 structures or inlets, nearly 600 acres of 305 lakes and ponds, moveable weir gates, stormwater pump stations, and canals, waterways and streams. [The team members] also mow 194 miles of canal annually and hand-clear 182 miles of canal semi-annually.”
Further, through this page, members of the public will find links connecting them to the Sarasota County Water Atlas and a fact sheet, the advisory said.
Among yet other details noted on the page, it points out that the county received the necessary permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on Oct. 8 “to dredge several isolated areas between Tuttle Ave. and South Beneva Road identified as having significant sediment buildup. The dredge is intended to be 50’ wide x 4’ deep Mean Low Water, along the centerline of the Creek.”
Through a public records request, the News Leader learned that Jennifer L. Alexander, a biologist with the USACE’s Tampa Regulatory Division, emailed county Stormwater Department Director Ben Quartermaine and John Morgan, the county’s watershed planning manager, at 5:14 p.m. on Oct. 8, writing, “Your permit has been signed and approved. … You guys are good to go for dredging from the Corps!”
Morgan responded at 5:22 p.m. that day: “You are a rockstar! Thank you so much for all your support, managing our expectations, going above and beyond to expedite where possible, and of course…your patience.”
Before the County Commission voted initially in June and again in early July to direct County Administrator Jonathan Lewis to create the separate Stormwater Department, a Stormwater Division was part of the county’s Public Works Department. Public Works Director Spencer Anderson had reported to the commissioners in early summer that he did not anticipate receiving the USACE permit until early 2026.