State speeds bid to drain leaking wastewater site
Officials in Florida on Monday investigated and ruled out the possibility of a second breach in a leaking reservoir south of Tampa that was holding nearly 300 million gallons of wastewater.
Manatee County officials said they hoped to accelerate the rate at which they were pumping water from the reservoir, part of a system of ponds connected to a former phosphate mine in Piney Point, Florida.
Jacob Saur, the Manatee County public safety director, said an infrared drone had identified signs overnight that could indicate a second breach at the reservoir.
The discovery prompted an engineering team at the site to evacuate, but the team had returned by Monday afternoon to investigate, Saur said at a news conference.
“Our No. 1 priority as we move through this incident is to make sure that the residents, those who are working on the site are continuing to remain safe, and that the site is safe for us to continue to do our operations,” Saur said.
By Monday evening, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection had discounted concerns of a possible second leak. In a statement posted on Twitter, the department cited “news reports of a second area of seepage” and called those reports “unsubstantiated.”
More than 300 homes remained under a mandatory evacuation order that was imposed after the discovery of the initial leak. Officials said Sunday that they were making progress in their efforts to drain the reservoir but warned that if it were to breach, it could result in a 20foot wall of water.
Scott Hopes, the acting Manatee County administrator, said additional pumps were expected to come online Monday, which he said would more than double the rate at which water was being taken out of the reservoir, to 75 million to 100 million gallons a day from 35 million gallons on Monday.