Water-Related News

Alligator Creek Stream Restoration Project underway

As part of Sarasota County’s commitment to improving water quality, last week, county staff partnered with Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium to get started on the Alligator Creek Stream Restoration Project.

The design portion of this project was awarded to Wood Environment and Infrastructure by the Sarasota County Board of County Commission on Oct. 8, 2021 and is funded in part by Sarasota County penny tax revenues. Funding for construction is not yet identified. The stream restoration includes reconfiguration of approximately 1.5 miles of corridor and bank stabilization, and will improve water quality and fisheries habitat, prevent further erosion, assure sediment transport, and reduce future maintenance costs. The Alligator Creek Stream Restoration Project is being designed to maintain the tidal influence and improve water quality in surrounding watersheds, as well as increase species diversity and stability.

See this video update about the project.

About Alligator Creek

Alligator Creek is a tidal creek that spans through south Venice to Lemon Bay and is a popular location for fishing and recreation. The creek has been long impacted by nutrient loading, invasive/nuisance vegetation, and bank erosion. This project will improve water quality and fisheries habitat.

Counting Fish

Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium devised a method for sampling fish species in different portions of Alligator Creek. Mote staff identified and counted various species, and implanted key species such as red drum and snook with a passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag prior to releasing them back to where they were collected. Further downstream, a solar-powered detection station picks up a signal from the PIT tags when a fish swim over it, which allows Mote scientists to learn more about fish growth, habitat use, directional migration patterns, life stages and survival rates. For more information on this process, please contact Mote public relations.

For additional information on Sarasota County’s water quality efforts, visit scgov.net/waterquality, or tune in to Sarasota County’s Facebook every t