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Manatee County nearly done clearing canals
Since last year's hurricanes, trees and debris continue to be removed from waterways across Manatee County. They want to ensure water remains flowing and nothing contributes to any additional flooding now that a new hurricane season is upon us. Kimberly Kuizon reports.
BRADENTON, Fla. - Since last year’s hurricanes, trees and debris continue to be removed from waterways across Manatee County.
The county wants to ensure water remains flowing and nothing contributes to any additional flooding.
It’s taken manpower and specialized machinery to get the job done.
Residents can see and hear the progress as Manatee County crews clear a canal in River Strand Estates with a piece of equipment called a Menzi Muck Machine.
"It’s got arms, it’s got legs," explained Jeff Bare, the property management contract manager for Manatee County. "Think of a walking spider in a sense. It’s got claws to be able to hold onto the bank or support itself when it’s down in the water. It’s able to do a lot of different things."
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It’s helped to speed up the cleanup process of local waterways.
"They are able to walk themselves into the bottom of a canal and work solo down there, clearing debris, reshaping it, removing sediment. Pretty much whatever they need to do or whatever the work order requires them to do," he said.
Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton left a lot of debris behind, including many trees in hard-to-reach areas.
READ: Gulfport still recovering from 'triple threat' storms one year after Hurricane Debby
"The last we identified was over 1,000 trees in these canals. It was a lot," Bare explained.
Manatee County crews have been working to clear more than 700 work orders and have brought in contractors to help.
Bare believes the work could be finished within days.
"The work we initially identified last year when the storms went through, we are down to literally only about a week or so left of that work to do," he said.
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The goal is to keep the water flowing, without any backups that could cause future flooding.
"I’m confident we will go into the heart of the hurricane season with a lot better handle on where our canals are at this point," said Bare.
The Source: The information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon.