MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Neighbors in Manatee County held a meeting over flooding from Hurricane Debby. Many like Sierra Nelson said it's becoming unbearable.
“We knew how it flooded originally and kind of where the waterlines were, but this one has definitely been a stressor,” Nelson said.
Hurricane Debby flooded Manatee County streets turning these neighbors’ backyards into ponds.
“Our ditches are still full, the water just has nowhere to go. So, we've got water puddles standing,” Nelson said.
Residents said this isn’t just during hurricanes.
“Every time there's an afternoon storm we flood,” Barbara Ficklin said.
Parrish United Methodist Church was full of people like Ficklin who came to learn more about their flood-prone communities. Developments she believes have grown too large.
“The only thing I can think of when I walk out my road and walk out to the new development entrance and see streams of water flowing out and flowing into our main road,” Ficklin said.
Neighbors blame overdevelopment, but they believe more than 15 billion gallons of water that came from the Lake Manatee Dam played a role in the flooding.
“When they release all of this water the water only has one way to go. It has all the way out Manatee River into the bay. What happens is they swell out the manatee river and it raises the level of the river. When it swells out there's nowhere for the water to go,” Dalton Nelson said.
The county said the dam wasn't built to help control flooding. Only to provide clean water.
“Water here, did not flow down here, and then come back up the river, jump up over the reservoir, and back up to here. I'm just saying that from a standpoint of geography is impossible,” Charles Hunsicker, Director, Manatee C. Natural Resources said.