Stormwater chief defends dredging permit and flood response, says he divided rainfall forecast by 3

Three days after a Suncoast Searchlight and Florida Trident investigation exposed critical mistakes by Sarasota County during Tropical Storm Debby, the county’s top stormwater official took to the lectern to defend his department.

During a 30-minute press conference Monday, Public Works Director Spencer Anderson challenged the reporting, contending the county’s own policy prevented it from dredging Phillippi Creek, where years of sediment buildup from a lapse in maintenance contributed to rising flood water that entered homes and businesses

He also pushed back on criticism of his absence in the lead-up to the storm, insisted his staff was adequately prepared, and, after the press conference, offered a surprising explanation for how he interpreted rainfall projections ahead of the flooding — an approach two forecasters later said was flawed.

Anderson additionally confirmed the county will not dredge the creek this year after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rejected an emergency application, with the expectation that dredging will start early in 2026.

A five-month investigation by the two nonprofit newsrooms found the county’s stormwater utility – the first in the state and long touted as the best — failed when it mattered most. Florida Trident and Suncoast Searchlight found critical staff positions were left unfilled during last year’s storms, key infrastructure like Phillippi Creek was neglected for decades, and essential flood protection protocols were ignored or forgotten — all exacerbating the damage.

Read the full investigation: Sarasota County officials downplayed flood risk. Tropical Storm Debby exposed their failures

County Administrator Jonathan Lewis announced during the press conference that he has stripped Anderson of other responsibilities so he can dedicate his attention to stormwater. That includes reassigning Assistant County Administrator Mark Cunningham to work “exclusively with” Anderson.

Here’s a breakdown of the statements made by Anderson during the press conference – and key facts setting the record straight:

Claim: Forecasts didn’t call for historic rain

Anderson disputed on Monday that forecasts in advance of Tropical Storm Debby called for historic rain. He insisted the area was first projected to receive only 6 to 8 inches of rain — not the up to 14 inches that came down.

But the National Hurricane Center forecast projected “maximum totals up to 12 inches” for parts of Southwest Florida as early as three days before Debby’s arrival. Thirty-six hours before its landfall in the Big Bend area of the Panhandle, that total had grown to a “maximum total up to 18 inches” in an updated forecast.

“Across portions of Florida,” the National Hurricane Center said on Aug. 3, “this rainfall will likely result in areas of considerable flash and urban flooding, with significant river flooding expected.”

Anderson himself has repeatedly said Debby was a “historic rainfall” event, telling county commissioners at a January stormwater workshop that rainfall from Debby in a 24-hour period “produced massive flooding, historic rainfall that we have not seen.”

After the press conference, Sarasota County spokeswoman Jamie Carson clarified Anderson’s interpretation of the forecast leading up to the storm. She said he took the National Hurricane Center’s projection of up to 12 inches of rain and divided it by 3, assuming it was spread over three days — meaning he expected about 4 inches of rain per day rather than a potential 12-inch rain in a single day. 

But two forecasters told Suncoast Searchlight and Florida Trident that’s not how to interpret rainfall forecasts. 

“Hurricanes usually move through so that the worst part happens in a day or so,” said Climate Adaptation Center CEO Bob Bunting, an atmospheric scientist and a former lead forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“So if there is 12 inches of rain predicted in a hurricane, it’s pretty much in a day,” he said. “It can be over three days, but Debby was well predicted (to) have near-historical rainfall, and it certainly did.”

Rodney Wynn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, confirmed: “No, you don’t want to do that,” he said of dividing the rainfall projections.

Debby thrashed Sarasota County on Aug. 5, unleashing intense rainfall that overwhelmed drainage systems and caused widespread flooding. Neighborhoods across the county were inundated, with homes, businesses and streets left underwater in one of the most severe flood events the region has seen in years.

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Claim: Vacation didn’t impact storm response

Anderson pushed back on reporting that revealed he went on vacation prior to the storm. 

Although he acknowledged that he left for his trip days before the storm arrived, Anderson said he came back immediately after the storm passed.

“When the rainfall came, I was (in) constant communication with county administration, and I returned that day,” Anderson told a room full of reporters Monday at the Emergency Operations Center.

Claim: Stormwater staff are qualified and experienced

Anderson defended the qualifications of his staff. He noted the 87 county employees funded through annual stormwater assessments have a combined 1,500 years of experience.

The Suncoast Searchlight and Florida Trident investigation focused on turnover and vacancies, highlighting how 1 in 5 stormwater field service positions remained unfilled prior to the last storm season.

He did not deny any of the investigation’s reporting regarding the persistent staff vacancies.

Claim: County prevented from dredging Phillippi Creek

Anderson told reporters at the press conference that a county ordinance from 2001 prevented it from dredging Phillippi Creek for years.

That 2001 ordinance in question focused solely on navigational dredging for boaters – not stormwater. The ordinance empowered residents along Phillippi Creek and other waterways to petition for navigational dredging and required two-thirds of affected property owners to agree to cover the cost. The program excluded any dredging aimed at improving stormwater conveyance for flood prevention. 

Anderson conceded that the ordinance had proven largely ineffective, with only a single project approved in more than two decades.

Claim: County did not miss deadline on Army Corps permit

Anderson denied that the county missed the Army Corps of Engineers’ deadline on the emergency dredging permit, which was sent on April 13.

But the Army Corps had issued three separate deadlines — one for each qualifying storm. The deadline to file under Tropical Storm Debby was March 4. For Hurricane Helene, it was April 4. Only the final deadline, for Hurricane Milton, was still open when the county submitted its application. That window closed on April 14 — one day after the county’s submission. 

It turns out the deadline didn’t matter, though, because Sarasota County was never qualified for the emergency permit to begin with. 

Federal law limits emergency permits strictly to addressing storm-related damages; the sediment buildup in Phillippi Creek predated Debby, according to Jennifer Alexander, the lead biologist with the Corps handling the permitting, in an interview with Suncoast Searchlight and Florida Trident.

Sarasota County was aware of this in August, Alexander told reporters, referring to a meeting the agency had with county officials last summer in connection with a separate permit to dredge a lower part of the creek. That permit is still pending.

Reporters reached out to Sarasota County to ask why officials pursued an emergency application in April since they already knew Phillippi Creek did not qualify. 

With dredging of Phillippi Creek pushed into next year at the earliest, Anderson advised flood-weary residents to do what they could to protect themselves.

“If your property is in the floodplain, you need to be protected,” Anderson said. “Get flood insurance, and, if you can, do your own work to mitigate flooding in your property.”

Derek Gilliam is a watchdog/investigative reporter for Suncoast Searchlight, and Michael Barfield is an investigative reporter for the Florida Trident, both nonprofit newsrooms serving the Sunshine State. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org and floridatrident.org

ABOUT THIS PROJECT: Suncoast Searchlight is partnering with the Florida Trident and its publisher, the Florida Center for Government Accountability, to examine the challenges facing Florida as it grapples with hurricanes, sea level rise and climate change. This story is part of that statewide effort.