Sarasota County to begin dredging Phillippi Creek this fall

SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — A dredging project to alleviate flooding will soon begin along a Sarasota creek.

The county recently received approval for the project along Phillippi Creek, where overflow has frequently inundated homes — most recently last year due to Hurricane Debby’s rain.

Sometimes, new homeowners don’t anticipate everything they need to know about their new house. That was the case for Nadia Bowen.

“When we moved in, I thought it was such a beautiful location. I never in a million years thought that, you know, the water would come this high — we’re 16 feet up,” she said.

Bowen moved into the Southgate neighborhood in Sarasota in 2021. For three years, she said there were no overflow issues from Phillippi Creek. But Debby was a wake-up call.

“It was flooded all the way up to here. It was close to coming to our pool, basically,” she said.

She said that while her home wasn’t flooded, others in the neighborhood were. She watched her neighbors experience the turmoil and is now worried her home could be next.

“Hurricane Debby really, really scarred our community. We have many people in our community that are still not back in their homes,” she said.

Bowen started a dredging subcommittee in the Southgate Community Association. The group advocates for dredging along Phillippi Creek. Sarasota County has received approval to start removing thousands of yards of material from the creek between U.S. 41 and Beneva Road.

Bowen lives between those two roads, but her home backs up to a secondary branch of the creek, not the primary waterway.

“I don’t know if they’re actually going to dredge this. We’re not sure. We know they’re going to dredge the main canal. We’re really happy about that,” she said.

Sarasota County Stormwater Director Ben Quartermaine said the dredging process will likely begin sometime this fall.

“Sedimentation in the creek has been building up over time, and projects and storms like Debby have reminded us that it’s imperative to ensure that the creek is operating at max capacity,” he said.

Those who live near the creek are awaiting the change.

“During storm times, it’s scary. It’s scary that there’s nowhere for the water to go,” she said.

With the county focused on improving Phillippi Creek, Bowen is hopeful the dredging provides protection for residents.

Earlier this year, Sarasota County submitted an emergency application for dredging along Phillippi Creek. That application was denied — according to county officials, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined a standard application was appropriate, due to several factors including the size of the dredging project and the location.