Stormwater Management

St. Armands Key is a low-lying, barrier island. It is also bowl-shaped, with a generally lower elevation in the interior and a slightly higher elevation in most places around the perimeter. It is therefore prone to flooding and pump stations have been installed because gravity drains alone were insufficient. However, those pump stations were overwhelmed and/or not fully operational during the flooding events of 2023 and 2024.

For information about flooding events on St. Armands Key, click here.

July 28, 1998

The City of Sarasota enters into an Interlocal agreement with Sarasota County to maintain all storm water systems located in the City of Sarasota. The city owns the system, but the county maintains it.

2006

A major stormwater improvement project was completed on St. Armands. A map of pump stations and baffle boxes, and a summary of the project details, can be viewed here.

Not all of St. Armands Key drains by gravity alone. Previous to this project, there was a single pump station on St. Armands (PS 2005). This project rehabilitated that pump station, added four additional pump stations (for a total of five; each pump station has two pumps for a total of ten), added baffle boxes to collect debris and prevent it from reaching the pumps, and added two backup generators to power the pumps.

November 7, 2023

At a regular monthly meeting of the St. Armands Residents Association, the Sarasota County Director of Public Works, the City of Sarasota Director of Public Works, and the City Engineer were all present to answer questions about the flooding from Hurricane Idalia. The Sarasota County Director of Public Works gave this presentation.

2023-2024

We received additional information from the County Stormwater Operations Manager following the 2023 Hurricane Idalia and 2024 Invest 90L flooding events.

June 28, 2024

City news bulletin: (link)

The record setting deluge we experienced a couple of weeks ago associated with Invest 90L resulted in 8+ inches of rain in just three hours, leaving parts of the city temporarily flooded. The stormwater system simply could not keep pace with the massive amount of rainfall. Through an inter-local agreement, Sarasota County oversees and maintains the stormwater system for the City of Sarasota. The administration has been in communication with County staff about the street flooding and possible actions that can be taken to mitigate a repeat occurrence. Again, this volume of rainfall has never been experienced in Sarasota.

July 17, 2024

Email from Sarasota County Public Works Director to City Manager about the improvements completed over the last two years:

Replaced five lift station panels
Installed four emergency pump-out connections
Replaced ductile iron pipeline and valves on station 2005 (S. Washington Cir)
Replaced one thousand feet of power line hit by a directional drill to 7010
Replaced seven of the ten pumps on the circle. The three we didn’t replace were only five years old and are in good condition.
We had two of the seven pumps rebuilt for backups if needed.

August 15, 2024

Herald-Tribune article: Sarasota County is paving over paradise - and using our money to do it

August 25, 2024

Response from County Stormwater Operations Manager to this resident photo:

All the drains were inspected and what needed to be cleaned was cleaned. This was the one you called to me just prior to Debby coming in.

The reason why we had reported this particular storm drain was because Hurricane Debby was coming and a nearby resident had just sent this photo:

The County Stormwater Operations Manager personally came out that same day and reported the following:

"I am here now. The incoming and outgoing pipe are both clear and flowing. The vegetation is laying down and not obstructing the drainage."

Most of our storm drains lead to one of several below-grade "baffle boxes" that collect debris in "cages" before it can reach and clog/damage our stormwater pumps. The county has previously told us that they clean these out quarterly. The city is responsible for street sweeping. But, when you're out and about, if you notice debris or vegetation potentially clogging an individual storm drain, it needs to be reported.

How to Report Issues

The City of Sarasota has an Interlocal agreement with Sarasota County to maintain all storm water systems located in the City of Sarasota.

Report issues (e.g. blocked drain grates) to Sarasota County by dialing 311, calling 941-861-500, or by using the County's "311 Connect" app. More information can be found here.

Residential and commercial property owners who experienced flooding are encouraged to report it to the City of Sarasota via FloodInfo@sarasotafl.gov. The information collected will be included in a report submitted to the federal government for possible assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA). Be certain to include:

Your name, address, email, and phone number in case we need to reach out to you
FEMA will not cover landscape but can still be sent in if you would like
Vehicle damage should be reported to car insurance. You can report it to the City also.
A brief description of damage (everything that needs to be replaced or fixed)
Amount of water (in inches) inside your home and garage
Photos of damage for your future reference and claims (to your own insurance provider)

Interactive Sarasota Stormwater Map

The County provides this online, interactive Sarasota Stormwater Map showing the location of storm drains, discharge pipes, and other elements of the stormwater management system. You can zoom in and out to find St. Armands, and then click on the "legend" and "layers" buttons (top right) to view or specify what gets shown on the map.

Note: There are some stormwater management features on the west side of St. Armands that are not incorporated in the interactive map which you can view here.

This mapping tool was used to help create the following illustration showing how stormwater gets removed from St. Armands Key:

Helpful Info & Links

The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program has more information on king tides here.

In Sarasota, our typical high tides are in the 1.3-1.8' range, measured above the average water level, with our highest tides being up to 2.3' above that average water level. King tides in Sarasota, such as the one that coincided with Hurricane Idalia, can be around 2.8' (6 inches more than what is normally a very high tide). Apparently that extra six inches of water during a king tide event, when combined with three-or-so feet of storm surge on the dirty side of a hurricane, can lead to flooding on St. Armands.

Click here for a website that forecasts future tide heights.

The NOAA has published this webpage with an interactive graphic and other information about stormwater inundation and how tides, storm surge, and other factors combine to cause coastal flooding.

Role of St. Armands Circle Park

In this historical photo of St. Armands Circle (circa 1950s?), you can see that the Circle Park has always been open land. Per this May 2022 report by City Staff, the Circle Park serves an important stormwater management role.

St. Armands Residents Association

P.O. Box 2482, Sarasota, FL 34230

e-mail us at: st.armands.residents.assn@gmail.com