Manatee River - Watershed

Watershed

The Manatee River watershed is positioned in the Tampa Bay sector of Manatee County. The watershed is approximately 395719.7 square meters long (360 square miles). The Manatee River headwaters flow 72420.48 meters (45 miles) in a westerly direction towards the Gulf of Mexico and southern Tampa Bay. There are two major river systems that make up the Manatee River Watershed—Braden River and Manatee River. These two rivers have been seized to create two reservoirs for potable supply—Bill Evers and Lake Manatee Reservoir. Bill Evers Reservoir is located downstream of the narrow winding river. This reservoir, built in the 1930s, covers 2,400 acres and is responsible for the majority of the water for the city of Bradenton. Within these acres it is common to find small, isolated ponds, mangrove islands, wetlands, and salt marshes. The Lake Manatee Reservoir is located upstream of the river. This reservoir, built in 1967, is a 2,000 acre artificial reservoir used as Manatee County’s primary water supply.

The Manatee River Watershed has three different physiographic locations ranging from plains, lowlands, and uplands. These locations cause the river to contain areas that are as varied as hardwood swamps, mesic flatwoods, coastal lowlands, and marshes. The highlands include areas with scattered bushes, pine trees, and oak trees. The soil within the highlands tends to be moderately well drained. The marshes and swamps have very poorly drained soil and tend to have water tolerant grasses within these areas. The uplands consist of flatwoods which have poorly drained soils. These areas contain saw palmettos and slash pines.