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UF/IFAS presents Sarasota County vulnerability assessment and adaptation plan
Summary
UF/IFAS Extension staff presented a grant‑funded vulnerability assessment and adaptation plan that ranks county-owned and critical assets for flood hazards, prioritizes geographic focus areas (including Phillippi Creek) and lists candidate adaptation projects and funding pathways.
UF/IFAS Extension and Sustainability staff summarized a multi‑year, grant‑funded vulnerability assessment and adaptation plan at the March 12 Sarasota County Commission meeting intended to guide resilience investments.
Lee Hayes Byron, director of UF/IFAS Extension and Sustainability, said the county‑focused assessment analyzed county-owned critical and community assets for exposure to tidal flooding, storm surge, rainfall-induced flooding and sea‑level rise. The project used a GIS asset inventory and sensitivity analysis to rank assets as low, medium or high risk and identified six geographic focus areas: Phillippi Creek, Siesta Key/Crescent Key (KC Keys), Manasota Keys, Nokomis, and the South Myakka River area.
"This was a high level multi‑year effort that was fully grant funded," Lee Hayes Byron said, and noted the analysis was submitted to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in 2024 and that the team received a Resilient Florida planning grant in 2022.
The plan produced prioritized adaptation projects — examples included vacuum sewer rehabilitation and creek restoration in the Phillippi Creek area, force main upgrades in Siesta Key, and pump station work in South Myakka. Staff emphasized the assessment was intended to improve grant readiness by aligning project lists with funding criteria and to inform ongoing capital planning.
Commissioners asked for counts of county facilities that fall into high‑risk categories and for timelines to harden or replace vulnerable assets. Lee Hayes Byron said staff would provide the underlying spreadsheet and noted the assessment considered present and future scenarios (2040 and 2070) for planning.
Next steps are outreach and pursuing implementation funding. Lee Hayes Byron said staff have already applied for or received several grants related to resiliency and will pursue implementation grants, including applications tied to the Resilient Florida program and the Coastal and Heartland National Estuary Program.
The presentation functioned as staff input to the subsequent stormwater regulatory discussion and provided technical context for prioritizing projects and funding requests.
