‘We got joy’: Long-awaited drainage project alleviates flooding fears in Rubonia

It’s been more than five years since the residents of historic Rubonia in northern Manatee County began to speak out about the community’s infrastructure needs seemingly being ignored by Manatee County government.

It’s been decades before that that the county’s oldest existing community — established in 1920 — has been suffering through flooding issues storm after battering storm.

Now, as Tropical Storm Fred nears the area, residents hope work that has begun on sewer updates will spare them more flooding.

In November 2020, the day after Tropical Storm Eta soaked the area, residents once again spoke out, saying, “We cross our fingers and pray,” the long-awaited drainage project Manatee County had promised for years would be ready ahead of this hurricane season.

Manatee County delivered the good news that same day that a contract had been signed and engineering had begun. Actual work to fix the community’s antiquated drainage system of gravity-fed swales in front of their homes is now four months into the project.

The $4 million project is being paid with $2.4 million of county tax dollars budgeted three months before Hurricane Irma caused damage and flooding in Rubonia in 2017. About $1.5 million was obtained through grants from the Department of Environmental Protection and Southwest Florida Water Management District.

The low-income community’s drainage system hasn’t been updated since the 1980s — and even that was just digging out the existing swales.

Crews from Woodruff & Sons are still in Phase 1 of the project, which is the installation of new stormwater pipes and drains that will eventually take water from the community into two planned retention ponds that are scheduled to be excavated in phases 2 and 3.

Some areas of the community are already completed and the new drainage system appears to be making a difference.

A group of seniors at the Rubonia Community Center told the Bradenton Herald on Thursday that areas long known for flooding near their homes had already ceased to flood after recent bouts of heavy rain.

When asked whether the community was happy to see the work finally begin, the seniors erupted in cheers and applause.

“We got joy and praise the Lord to answer our prayers,” said Debroah Barber, who was overseeing the community center’s activities.

While Tropical Storm Eta dumped 9 inches of rain across Manatee County, it was more of a steady and prolonged rain event. Had it been a more typical rain-event storm that can dump that much rain in a matter of a couple of hours, Rubonia may have been under water.

As it was, the antiquated system could not keep up with Eta’s rain and brought flood waters within inches of the front doors to several homes.

While any stormwater system can get overwhelmed during a major rain event, such as a tropical storm or hurricane, Rubonia never stood a chance — until now.

With Tropical Storm Fred expected to brush the west coast of Florida this weekend, the project won’t be finished in time for this or any other storms this hurricane season, but it’s already making an early impact.

More importantly, the work is inspiring new hope in a community that had lost hope that anything would be done at all.

‘We’re important, too’

Following Eta, frustration was mounting once again. Rubonia resident Bernita Lane said at the time that the community was used to being ignored by the county.

With Rubonia sitting near Terra Ceia Bay, it also is susceptible to high tide. Throw in a major storm and “we’re done,” Lane said at the time. She wanted the county to know that, “We’re important, too.”

The funding for the project was obtained through water quality improvement applications, which include a “baffle box,” system that will catch debris, oil and gas before stormwater enters the planned retention ponds.

The project includes a complex stormwater system throughout the community, new roads and new sidewalks, which will likely begin installation in September. Homeowners are also getting new driveways where the swales are being removed and replaced with stormwater pipes.

The project drew some concerns about how stormwater which has typically flowed into nearby McMullen Creek from Rubonia on its way to the bay, would be handled.

Besides the two new retention ponds that will absorb most of the water from the community now instead of flowing into McMullen Creek, two of eight check valves have been installed at the creek’s head, which can keep high tide waters from escaping into the community during a storm event coinciding with a high tide.

“We are excited about the future and have joy and happiness that we don’t have to worry about flooding getting into our homes and destroying our property,” resident Barber said.

This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 12:09 PM.