Update on Phillippi Creek Dredging Efforts

Phillippi Creek silt build up north of the Tuttle Bridge

Update: Clarified that the WCIND Permit only includes previsouly dredged locations. In South Gate, this means only dredging to Webber Bridge.

Many neighbors have reached out recently with questions about the status of the dredging work on Phillippi Creek, especially following reports that the County’s request for an emergency permit was denied.

We want to clarify where things stand based on recent updates and conversations we’ve had with both Sarasota County Commissioners and staff, as well as WCIND officials.

What’s Really Going On?

There was some confusion this week after a message from the County Administrator indicated that the Army Corps had denied the County’s emergency permit for high spot dredging. We were stunned to be told this during two seperate meetings with Commissioners Mast and Knight on Tuesday.

However, we learned later that day that it wasn't the full story.

The Army Corps has not denied the project, they’ve simply reclassified it. Originally, the County hoped to fast-track the dredging under an emergency permit. However, the Corps decided the project does not qualifies for that expedited route in part because of the County's incomplete application and the timing of submittal and is instead moving forward under a standard permit process.

The bad news is that this means, under this permit, there will likely be no dredging until next year.

The good news is that this process is active and moving forward, including a public comment period that opened earlier this month. The Corps says they are aware of the urgency and are processing it accordingly.

There's also another glimmer of hope with the WCIND project which we will talk more about below.

County’s Timeline and Efforts

Sarasota County submitted an emergency dredging permit request in April and responded to follow-up questions from the Army Corps of Engineers. Unfortunately, due to shifting federal guidance and errors in the County’s own application, the request was disqualified from emergency status.

To make matters worse, because the County couldn’t attribute all of the sediment to last year’s storms, the project was rolled into the longer, standard permit review process.

The Army Corps officially posted the permit notice on June 9, and the initial public comment period ended June 23. However, they’ve stated they will continue accepting comments until a decision is made.

WCIND

Separately, the West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND) is managing dredging efforts from the mouth of the creek to U.S. 41, and their permit applications are also moving forward. They’ve completed their responses to both the DEP and the Army Corps and are ready to go out to bid once the permits are finalized.

This is good news, because the county has also worked with WCIND to expand this project all the way to Beneva Road on sections which already have been permitted.

The bad news is, this leaves out most of South Gate north of the Tuttle Bridge. This also would be a navigational dredge only and will only provide a minimal level of flood protection for residents along the creek – but its a start.

Level of Service & Continued Creek Maintenance

Dredging is a multi-phase effort involving different agencies, overlapping permits, and confusing buracratic red-tape, but we are seeing progress. Very, very slow progress but there has been progress.

The County will be discussing the costs associated with a Waterways Level of Service to the July 1st and 2nd County Commissioner Budget Workshops. Public Works will be asking the Commissioners for an additional $10 million dollars per year in the form of a massive 60% increase to stormwater assesments to "maintain" Phillippi Creek and other major waterways with routine dredging.

We don't believe that requesting $10 million for a vague "level of service" without an actual scope or vision is a solution. It’s just another way to delay action and a big indicator that County staff do not take this problem seriously.

We believe waterway maintenance decisions should be grounded in expert engineering, current data, and most importantly, reality. An increased Stormwater Level of Service means ensuring regular inspections, clear dredging schedules, and a long-term plan that prioritizes flood prevention for the thousands of residents who rely on this system to function properly.

To plan for stormwater events the County is relying on 25-year-old data which no longer reflects the realities of our watershed. This outdated data doesn’t just jeopardize effective planning, it puts the County at serious risk of violating state and federal flood standards.

Phillippi Creek, and our entire stormwater system, deserve more than empty promises and blank checks. We need a real maintenance plan, built on modern data and modeling, and managed by people who are serious about this issue.

Thank you to everyone who has stayed involved, asked thoughtful questions, and voiced support. Our community’s engagement continues to play a critical role in keeping this issue front and center.

We’ll share more updates as they become available.

ACOE Publishes Public Notice of Navigational Dredge Permits for Phillippi Creek

As required, the Army Corps of Engineers has provided a public notice related to the navigational dredging permit submitted by the county. The notice can be found here:

https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public-Notices/Article/4209322/saj-2025-01036-sp-jla/

This is an expected part of the process to receive a dredging permit from the ACOE for this part of the project.

Sarasota County OKs new stormwater management department

Great news from the BCC meeting yesterday.

A few in our group of neighborhoods have been advocating for this and we’re seeing the commissioners upset with the progress of Public Works — enough to split the department up. This could be a good thing, as it should allow Stormwater to get the staffing and resources it needs to fulfill its mission. We will have to see what this looks like over time.

Update: Stormwater Workshop #3 Postmortem

Quick update from Stormwater Workshop #3 with the Board of County Commissioners yesterday and our brief meeting with County staff this morning.

Level of Service

Before the meeting, we published a document we've been working on for a few weeks now. The Phillippi Creek Level of Service Proposal has been sent to the commissioners and county staff. You can review it here. We are very hopeful the maintenance part will be considered; unfortunately, the policy level is off the table for reasons below.

A lot came up in the BCC Workshop about expanding the County's lack of a Level of Service which includes Stormwater Dredging. As we communicated before this workshop, the County says that Creek Maintenance is not something they are responsible for and, according to the presentation, Public Works is asking for $10M per year in revenue to fund waterway maintenance projects county wide.

Having a Level of Service would permit/make the county dredge more of these areas as part of routine maintenance, and this would be a full stormwater dredge (as close to shore to shore as possible).

Big thanks to one of our partners, Connie Neeley in Forest Lakes, who researched an ordinance from 2022 and got it into Commissioner Smith’s hands. Ordinance basically says the County Stormwater must maintain the creek and use our Stormwater funds to do so -- Stormwater and Public Works have made clear that the creek is not part of their purview. This caused a lot of confusion, and commissioners will be reviewing this ordinance and coming back with more information and direction for staff at a later date. Keeping an eye on this – great find by Connie.

The County will be working on a Level of Service document to give to the Commissioners to review. We are monitoring this closely.

Dredging Project Update

Below you will find a project map for the dredging projects that affect South Gate and other areas along the creek.

Phase 1 is the "High Spots" emergency dredging project. These areas will be dredged using the Resilient SRQ funds in areas that have historic permitting. This is a navigational dredge which will be at 50' x 4' deep.

Phase 2 is the yellow line that accompanies the map and traces down the main channel of the creek. This is also a navigational dredge which will be 30' x 4' deep (where permissible - and avoiding private structures like docks and seawalls). It includes both of the River Ridge (40 ft wide) and Mineola (90 ft wide) canals and the Seclusion Lake oxbow.

This project will take place in conjunction with the Phase 1 project and hopefully overlap, but please keep in mind these projects will likely take years to complete. There will be no shovels in the creek anytime soon. 

In all cases of seawalls, the county will leave a minimum of 10 ft of existing sediment as they do not want the liability of uncovering a failing seawall, which would then be their responsibility to repair.

Keep in mind, the River Ridge canal is 40 ft wide, and the county will leave 10 ft of sediment on the seawalls. That leaves a 20 ft channel down the middle. The Mineola canal is 90 ft wide, so the county will leave significantly more sediment next to those seawalls (30 ft). We are still pushing for more alternatives for this, but since this is a Navigational Dredge limited to 30', it would not benefit anyone for flooding. This is basic work for navigation only and will have only cost benefits to completing a “correct” stormwater dredge at a later date.

Updating Stormwater Policy

For dredging to matter, we need to change what goes into the creek, and to do that, we need policy for construction and development to be updated. The State has passed SB108, which effectively prohibits local governments from enacting ordinances that impose more restrictive or burdensome comprehensive plan amendments, land development regulations, or procedures related to development for a period from August 1, 2024, to October 1, 2027. This bill is on the governor's desk to sign. I suspect it will be signed any day now, probably at the beginning of storm season for maximum political effect.

In effect, our local government is completely neutered when it comes to updating stormwater policy, which would work to prevent sediment from entering the creek until late 2027. They won't even be able to talk about this until that time.

Next Steps

Nadia and I are continuing our work with commissioners and County staff to meet the needs of the community.

That is all we have for this week. Have a great holiday weekend!

Neunder calls for third county stormwater workshop with primary focus on staff actions to try to prevent repeat of unexpected neighborhood flooding last year

Great article from the Sarasota News Leader regarding a 3rd Stormwater Workshop.

The most recent stormwater workshop that staff had conducted — on March 12 — “focused on a menu of possible regulatory options which we should revisit this Summer with specific recommendations from our professional Staff as well as independent review,” Neunder pointed out in the email. “However,” he continued, “I’m still convinced that we need to turn our immediate attentions to [the] Stormwater Maintenance and Operation program. This will assure … there is [an] ‘All Hands On Deck’ approach that is currently underway. If this Board agrees to provide [Lewis] with clear direction/mission (And yes, always with a motion) my hope is that we can better be prepared for this upcoming Hurricane Season in the Community that we all LOVE and are blessed to be able to call HOME.”

As of today, we are still waiting on any action to be taken by the county regarding emergency dredging of Phillippi Creek.