A drone discovered a possible second breach in a large Florida wastewater reservoir as more pumps were headed to the site to prevent a catastrophic flood, officials said Monday.
Florida dismisses 2nd breach risk at phosphate reservoir
CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press
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1of8U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, addresses the media Monday, April 5, 2021 about the crisis at the former Piney Point phosphate plant, along with Manatee County officials. (Zachary T. Sampson/Tampa Bay Times via AP)Zachary T. Sampson/APShow MoreShow Less
2of8Acting Manatee County Administrator Dr. Scott Hopes speaks during a news conference Sunday, April 4, 2021, at the Manatee County Emergency Management office in Palmetto, Fla. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday after a leak at a large pond of wastewater threatened to flood roads and burst a system that stores polluted water.Chris O Meara/APShow MoreShow Less
Florida dismisses second breach risk at phosphate reservoir
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Florida dismisses second breach risk at phosphate reservoir
AP / Updated: Apr 6, 2021, 17:24 IST
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Dozens of pumps and 10 vacuum trucks have been deployed to remove 35 million gallons (132 million liters) of wastewater per day into the Tampa Bay estuary. AP Photo
ST. PETERSBURG: Engineers and dam safety specialists evaluating the danger of a catastrophic flood from a leaking Florida wastewater reservoir determined that the threat of a possible second breach was unsubstantiated, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said. Officials had said Monday that a drone discovered a possible second breach in the reservoir, whose east wall continues to show concentrated seepage. But by Monday evening, experts from four government agencies and outside engineers concluded that this second site was safe to continue working on, the agency announced.
Reservoir near the old Piney Point phosphate mine in Bradenton, Florida. Photograph: Tiffany Tompkins/AP
Reports of a second breach at a wastewater reservoir in central Florida are âunsubstantiatedâ, a state agency said, as workers nonetheless battled to prevent hundreds of millions of gallons of contaminated water causing a catastrophic flood.
On Monday, officials warned there could be a second leak in the pool at the abandoned Piney Point phosphate plant, south of Tampa, which has been gushing wastewater from a breached wall for a week, at a rate of 2m to 3m gallons a day.
The Florida department of environmental protection subsequently said engineers had found no evidence of another breach. But fears continue over the ecological impact of pumping the leaking wastewater into the Tampa Bay. The water has elevated levels of nitrogen and is acidic, which can kill fish and cause algal blooms.