[nutmeg]

Lakewood Ranch residents are hopping angry.

Wow, that's incredible. I didn't even know there was a Manatee Dam. (My in-laws lived in Manatee County back in the 1990s.)

I feel bad for the Lakewood Ranch residents. They didn't ask for this!

[NautiNurse]

Lake Manatee provides drinking water to the county. If the earthen dam breaks, things would be a lot worse. From what I've read this afternoon, the county reached out to warn residents before releasing the water. Don't know how much notice.

It will take some time to learn whether the residents knew they were in the Lake Manatee flood plain when they purchased their property.

I recall 20+/- years ago there was a threat to the dam integrity when one of the gates was stuck. It made national news with choppers flying over, waiting for the dam to break and cause a disaster.