New details emerge as Manatee families demand action on Debby flooding

For months, Manatee County officials have been sitting on key information — unknown to the public — that could answer questions about the severe flooding in neighborhoods during Hurricane Debby last August.

But in mid-February, the Florida Trident has found new information: engineers investigating the historic flooding have identified two key contributors — a man-made modification to a golf course tee box extending into the Braden River floodway and sediment buildup beneath a nearby bridge.

Those factors played a significant role in the flooding that devastated the River Club and Summerfield neighborhoods, according to an engineering report and additional information provided by Schroeder-Manatee Ranch developer Rex Jensen.

The report by civil engineer Stephen Suau was commissioned by Jensen following Debby’s torrential rains. Data from Suau’s investigation was provided to Manatee County in mid-November 2024, according to a recent e-mail and memo from Jensen. (Neither Jenson nor Suau are public officials.)

That said, Manatee resident Jill Sauchinitz questioned why residents were not told about Suau’s report since they had the information in November. “Why are we just now hearing about this,” she asked during an interview with the Florida Trident.

Sauchinitz detailed the impact on her family.

“On August 5, 2024, my entire neighborhood and home was swallowed by the Braden River. Billions of gallons of water were released from the Lake Manatee Dam. Sewage water ravaged and destroyed our home. This flooding forced us into financial ruin. We did not live in a flood zone and did not carry flood insurance. FEMA was a horrible experience,” she said.

“My neighbors and I are extremely disappointed in county officials. We are waiting for the county to explain how this will never happen again,” Sauchinitz said. “We deserve accountability and transparency as taxpaying citizens.”

On Wednesday, Feb. 19, commissioners are scheduled to hold a work session to consider the Suau report. Manatee County’s engineering division manager will also make a staff presentation regarding the county’s stormwater program.

Immediate action

In a strongly worded email and memo sent to county commissioners last Thursday, Jensen urged immediate action, emphasizing that the flooding in Summerfield resulted from issues squarely within the County’s responsibility. Jensen said he fixed everything that needed to be fixed in his Summerfield development.

He specifically noted that sediment under the bridge at River Club Boulevard “has never been maintained by Manatee County” and pointed to unauthorized construction activities that filled part of the old Braden River channel just west of the bridge.

Jensen claims the results of the investigation “pinpointed the River Club Blockage as the cause of the Summerfield Flooding” and the information was discussed with the county staff on November 18, 2024, followed by a transmittal of data two days later via e-mail.

Jensen urged the County Commission to quickly address the obstructions. “The most serious and unacceptable flooding of homes in Summerfield are directly related to issues squarely within the County’s responsibility and control,” he said.

Jensen’s memo also criticized District 5 Commissioner Bob McCann for his handling of stormwater issues, particularly at a Feb. 5 town hall meeting. Jensen described the event as a “compendium of childish, self-aggrandizing, hyperbolic, inaccurate, and unfair statements,” adding that misinformation was being spread about the true cause of the flooding.

Jensen’s memo railed at McCann’s suggestion in late January of a building moratorium.

Multiple efforts to reach both Jensen and McCann were not returned by press time.

The Suau report

Suau’s report analyzed 2018 LiDAR data just downstream of where the River Club bridge crosses the Braden River. The data revealed a section of the north embankment was over 1 foot higher than that found in the 2004 LiDAR data.

LiDAR, an acronym for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing technology that uses laser pulses to measure distances and generate high-resolution, three-dimensional maps of the Earth’s surface.

Suau’s investigation also indicated that observed flood elevations were higher than the 100-year design storm estimates at two locations where the Braden River winds through the River Club and Summerfield neighborhoods: River Club Boulevard and Lakewood Ranch Boulevard.

Suau recently assisted Sarasota County with the discovery of the cause of flooding in Laurel Meadows and the Phillippi Creek basin during Debby. An earthen berm on the edge of Rothenbach Park and Cow Pen Slough was breached sending a tsunami of water northward.

Sediment and a golf course tee box

Public records reviewed by the Florida Trident confirm that engineers are focusing on tee boxes at Hole #10 of the River Club Golf Course. Emails from Manatee County reference the tee box as appearing to “cross into the floodway,” with aerial images showing its construction between 2007 and 2009.

A post-Debby survey of the property indicated the location of the lower tee box at Hole #10 appeared to encroach into the floodway of Braden River.

A review of the aerial photos confirmed that the lower tee box did not appear in February 2007.

An alteration first appears in a January 2008 aerial photo.

By 2009, aerial imagery indicates that construction of the lower tee box had been completed.

The course’s current owner, Tony Soletti, stated that the alteration was already in place when he purchased the property in 2018.

Soletti expressed willingness to cooperate, saying he would allow the County to widen the river by taking 10 feet of his property on either side. “I don’t have a problem with that. If somebody wants to come in there tomorrow and remove it, I’m fine with that,” Soletti said.

It remains unclear whether any permits were obtained for the tee box construction by the prior owner, raising potential regulatory concerns. Under federal law, unpermitted development in a floodway can jeopardize a community’s eligibility for the National Flood Insurance Program.

Soletti described the riverbank as “an unmaintained jungle. No one from the county has ever called me about this issue.

“The drainage easements haven’t been cleaned out in years,” Soletti said. “Whenever I’ve called the County to clean out the drainage easements, they are always willing to help but they simply don’t have the resources they need.”

The County has responsibility for maintaining drainage easements.

As to stormwater

Thomas Gerstenberger, the engineering division manager, is scheduled Feb. 19 to make a staff presentation regarding the county’s stormwater program.

The presentation provides an overview of stormwater management in Manatee County, focusing on impacts from Hurricane Debby and broader drainage challenges. It details record rainfall and flood levels, particularly in the Braden River, Summerfield, and Gamble Creek areas, emphasizing that outdated flood maps, uncoordinated flood mitigation efforts, and maintenance challenges have exacerbated stormwater issues.

Gerstenberger has twice told Planning Commission members that Manatee County’s flood maps are outdated.

In December 2020, Gerstenberger advocated for changes to the Stormwater Design Manual, following a 2-year effort to convince residents a stormwater utility fee was necessary to make much-needed improvements. Unlike neighboring counties, Manatee County does not have a stormwater utility fee.

Before resigning after an ethics scandal, then-Commissioner Vanessa Baugh opposed the stormwater utility fee in 2020, claiming residents in Lakewood Ranch do not have flooding issues and were already taxed for stormwater.

Following Debby’s impact last August, Gerstenberger told Planning Commission members the following month that “it goes without saying, the source of floodplain information in this county is either obsolete, out of date or incorrect.” 

Bill Logan, Manatee County’s public information officer, declined to answer multiple written questions about the Suau report or the obstruction in the waterway, including why residents weren’t informed about Suau’s report, telling the Florida Trident to make a public records request for the information.