The Braden River is a 21-mile waterway that drains an 83-square-mile area watershed in west-central Florida and is the largest tributary of the Manatee River. The hydrology of the Braden River was altered in 1936 when the city of Bradenton created Ward Lake, a reservoir with an 838-foot broad-crested weir 6 miles upstream from the mouth. In 1985 th…The Braden River is a 21-mile waterway that drains an 83-square-mile area watershed in west-central Florida and is the largest tributary of the Manatee River. The hydrology of the Braden River was altered in 1936 when the city of Bradenton created Ward Lake, a reservoir with an 838-foot broad-crested weir 6 miles upstream from the mouth. In 1985 the reservoir was expanded and supplies an annual average of 5.7 million US gallons of water per day.