Residents press county for quicker dredging of Phillippi Creek and oxbows as flood risk persists

In a lengthy late‑agenda public comment period Feb. 10, dozens of Phillippi Creek residents urged Sarasota County commissioners to speed dredging and sediment removal in the creek’s middle sections and oxbows, saying repeated storm events have left shoals that are exacerbating flooding and threatening homes.

Residents described three separate flooding events in recent seasons and pointed to visible shoal deposits and barely navigable channels behind private properties. Several speakers said the county already holds permits (or has access to WCIND permits) for portions of the middle channel and asked staff to use those authorizations and available HUD/stormwater funds to perform trenching and shoal removal now, rather than wait until the end of the calendar year. Jennifer Topton, a long‑time resident, said the creek “is filling in and very rapidly” and warned that leaving the middle section unworked while dredging proceeds north and south would create a constriction that could increase flood heights during the next heavy storm.

Commissioners heard repeated personal accounts of property damage, stranded boats and wildlife harmed by shallow channels. Staff and several commissioners agreed that more technical analysis is needed and asked for a discussion item with the county’s stormwater director and technical team to return to the board; commissioners also voted to bring a focused discussion on dredging strategy (timing, permit status and funding) back to the board for detailed technical briefing. No immediate budget appropriation was approved at the Feb. 10 meeting.