Manatee County Government
Wares Creek dredging one step closer to reality with County Commission action
Manatee BCC took another major step toward the dredging of Wares Creek, unanimously approving a Project Partnership Agreement that's required to bid the long-awaited project.
Manatee County Government
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MANATEE COUNTY, FL (Aug. 6, 2010) – Manatee County Commissioners yesterday took another major step toward the dredging of Wares Creek, unanimously approving a Project Partnership Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
With the signed agreement, the Corps may now place out to bid a flood control project -- nearly 25 years in the works -- on a nearly three-mile section of Wares Creek from Manatee Avenue to Cortez Road. The Corps has set forth a tentative schedule to begin Phase I of the dredging project in the spring of 2011 or sooner. Phase II could begin as soon as the fall of 2011 and Phase III could begin as soon as the summer of 2012, though both of these phases are contingent on necessary property acquisition.
Manatee County Natural Resources director Charlie Hunsicker, who has spearheaded the massive project on the local front, said another important piece of the project has fallen into place.
“This agreement sets in motion the largest single stormwater flood protection project in the county’s history,” Hunsicker said. “The signing of this agreement brings much-needed federal and state grants to bear to reduce the county’s participation to roughly 40 percent of the total project cost. Without this financial support from our state and federal partners, this stormwater project could not have been undertaken.”
The federal government will pay for $21.2 million of the $45.5 million project. Southwest Florida Water Management District will match the $11 million Manatee County is paying. The City of Bradenton will use a DEP grant to reimburse Manatee County for up to $1 million.
For more information, call Hunsicker at (941) 745-3727.