Dumping of treated sewage prompts review

A treatment plant dumped more than 5 million gallons of treated sewage and stormwater into Delray Beach waterways, a state environmental agency says.

The wastewater release, which was unauthorized, hapdisinfected, pened in recent days after heavy rainfall caused by Tropical Storm Philippe, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

About 100,000 gallons spilled into the Intracoastal Waterway on Oct. 29 because of a line break in an outfall, a pipe that leads to the ocean, near Atlantic Avenue, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.

Then, over three days starting Oct. 29, the South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant discharged more than 5 million gallons of wastewater into a canal that connects to Lake Ida, a lake just east of Interstate 95, north of Lake Ida Road, according to the DEP.

The released water was a mixture of treated human waste and stormwater that was “but not filtered to reuse quality,” said Doug Levine, plant manager.

“All human waste and other contaminants are removed through secondary treatment and staff handled a large storm event very well by making sure the plant treated all water received by the plant and protected the environment,” Lev-

ine said in an email to the Sun Sentinel.

The water is not treated to the level used for recycling purposes such as on lawns and golf courses. It also leaves behind concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorous that can feed algal blooms.

An initial review of the facility found the plant may have violated pollutioncontrol laws, according to a letter of warning from the DEP to the South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant dated Nov. 9.

The letter is part of a department process to gather additional information and learn if there were any violations.

Levine said he is confident the plant did everything it could to avoid dumping the wastewater into the canal.

“We never want do it,” Levine said. “There was no other place to put the water.”

City Commissioner Jim Chard said the letter is standard procedure and that experts have not found any cause for concern.

“The level of fecal matter was well below the maximum amount that is allowed,” Chard said. “Neither the DEP or our own water treatment experts are treating it as an environmental hazard.”

The problems began Oct. 28, when Tropical Storm Philippe blew into South Florida, dumping as much as 10.93 inches of rain on parts of Palm Beach County in less than 24 hours.

The heavy rains doubled the amount of wastewater that normally moves through the plant to about 33 million gallons, Levine said.

Ordinarily, the plant uses its ocean-outfall pipe to jettison excess water in emergency situations, but a line broke along the ocean outfall, causing the 100,000-gallon spill on Oct. 29, he said.

As a result, the treatment plant had to close down the outfall pipe and dump more than 5 million gallons into a canal north of the plant, which it is permitted to do, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.

“When we found the leak, we had to shut off our ocean outfall,” Levine said.

October’s rain event was the second this year to cause the treatment plant to use the ocean outfall, he said.

The ocean outfall is one of six pipes that have been used to dump billions of gallons of partially treated sewage into the ocean, but the Delray/Boynton Beach pipe ended regular use in 2009.

The plant has since closed a valve cutting off the leak from the entire system, Levine said. The outfall remains in use for emergency situations.

The South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment could be liable to pay fines or or damages if they are found to have violated state law.