Final Project: Bobwhite-Manatee Transmission line

Kelsey Smela

10/11/2024

GIS 4043/L

The Bobwhite-Manatee Transmission Line was project created in 2006 by Florida Power and Light, also known as FPL. This project takes place on the West Coast of Florida  in Manatee County  and also crossing into Sarasota County.

The Objective of this project is to identify the best possible route for a new transmission line while considering the surrounding communities and ecologically  fragile areas. Taking the surrounding communities and environmentally sensitive land into consideration, GIS will help us identify certain attributes within a proximity of the proposed transmission line. By utilizing GIS we will be able to visualize and identify:

• Homes within proximity of the transmission line

• Schools within proximity of the transmission line

• Environmentally sensitive land such as wetlands or conservation areas

For this project, GIS helped to identify features such as homes, schools and sensitive land within proximity of the proposed transmission line. By geocoding the spreadsheet of schools within Manatee and Sarasota Counties, I was provided with points to visualize the location of the schools and whether they fell within proximity of the transmission line. With a visualization, I was able to visually analyze the data and put homes in two categories: within the preferred corridor or within 400 feet of the preferred corridor. GIS was imperative to find the best possible route of the transmission line.

After careful consideration, planning , evaluating, and looking at 1,275 alternative routes, Florida Power and Light decided to  pull the trigger on their final route. Within the study area is the preferred corridor of the transmission line, major roads in the area, a county boundary line for Manatee and Sarasota County.

By creating a point feature class for homes, I was able to collect data and apply the collected homes into two categories; within the preferred corridor or within a 400 foot buffer zone. In doing so, the results below were composed:

• 53 homes in total between Manatee and Sarasota County

• 20  homes are within the preferred corridor of the transmission line

• 33 homes are within the 400 foot buffer zone of the transmission line

By geocoding the tables of the list of schools in Manatee County and Sarasota County, location points of all the schools were added to the basemap. As seen in the image to the right, no schools in either county fall into the proximity of the transmission line.

• 157 Total Schools in Manatee County and Sarasota County

• 87 School in Manatee County

• 70 Schools in Sarasota County

• Zero Schools within the preferred corridor of the transmission line

• Zero Schools within the 400 foot buffer zone

By using the select by attributes function in ArcGIS, I was able to differentiate the features of the wetlands: Uplands, Palustrine, Lacustrine, and Riverine. By using the calculate geometry function I was able to get the results below:

• There are about 10,395 acres of land within the study area

• The total amount of land directly impacted by the preferred corridor of the transmission line is about 163 acres

• The percentage of wetlands affected by the preferred corridor of the transmission line is about 14%

The Bobwhite-Manatee Transmission Line takes place on the West Coast of Florida with the study area being in Manatee County  and Sarasota County. 

• There are 20 homes within the preferred corridor and 33 homes within the 400 foot buffer zone of the transmission line

• There are zero schools within preferred corridor and 400 foot buffer zone of the transmission line

• Within the study area of the transmission line there is 10,395 acres of land, 163 acres will be directly impacted by the preferred corridor, and about 14% of wetlands will be affected by the preferred corridor

Attached are a link to my power point presentation and a link to my transcript to my presentation:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1U-f4yhTrg4dr3-pC8SnI3o8K_ApL-9tfZRAXV3x_W1E/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/document/d/18gvQ3Cd6p-EM8XGALPAFZ6rfMi4DPhOvtfxrE5K1_q8/edit?usp=sharing