Giant Bags Used to Rehabilitate Wares Creek in Bradenton

By J. Nielsen

BRADENTON - The image could stop traffic on Manatee Avenue in downtown Bradenton: groups of men are whipping and whacking giant white balloon-like bags hovering above Wares Creek.

The curious entertainment — actually a key part of cleaning up the creek — comes compliments of the Army Corps of Engineers, which is well under way with a $51.7 million flood control and creek dredging project.

"Those are called Geo-Bags," explained Bradenton City Council member Patrick Roff, who represents much of the neighborhood around Wares Creek, a tributary of the Manatee River that runs through south Bradenton.

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