SARASOTA, Fla (WSNN) — After receiving historic levels of rain on Sunday, Bradenton’s wastewater plant had spilled over 3.5 million gallons of water containing raw sewage.
This left the city flooded with severely contaminated water.
Water finally going down in Sarasota County neighborhood, but not fast enough for many
Residents made several comments to SNN Thursday, mostly voicing their concerns about the rancid smell and how widespread the flooding effect was.
One resident also referenced that they felt the city wasn’t doing enough to combat the issue and that there should have been better preparations for these severe weather events.
Many also believe climate change has a significant role to play in the higher rainfall amounts we’ve been experiencing recently.
SNN spoke with Abbey Tyrna, executive director at Suncoast Waterkeepers, about how the climate has affected these events.
“The climate is changing,” Tyrna said. “We saw historic rain amounts. Unfortunately, even though we know this was going to happen, we are left unprepared. Adaptation measures have not been implemented. There’s been no state-wide policy action in order to get us prepared and ready for the next event.”