The Piney Point facility received about 2.5 inches of rain from Elsa and had already experienced at least 5.2 inches since June, according to reports from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
In April, the agency authorized an emergency release of an estimated 215 million gallons of nutrient-rich wastewater into Tampa Bay to avoid a complete failure of the Piney Point phosphogypsum stacks.
Environmental hazards and flooding concerns forced the evacuation of nearby residents and businesses.
The reservoir pond that breached earlier this year now holds about 249 million gallons of wastewater, and the patch installed to stop the leak remains intact, according to the state.
The taking of tolls and a final saga from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge disaster tampabay.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tampabay.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Sarasota and the state are on the east side of the storm, “which is traditionally the side that has rain and the wind and possibly some isolated tornadoes,” McCrane said.
Currently officials are anticipating a two-to-four-foot storm surge, sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph.
“Better than we hoped, this is good,” McCrane said during a 6 p.m. video update.
Because sustained winds will be less than 45 mph, emergency vehicles should still be able to respond to calls for aid.
“It’s up to the chief officers, but vehicles will still be able to respond,” McCrane said.
We are expecting a Category 1 hurricane, Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes said Tuesday afternoon.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch, a flood watch and a storm surge warning Tuesday for Manatee residents.
Elsa continues to drop a deluge of rain, and officials warn that Manatee County and Tampa Bay could experience between three to five feet of storm surge.
Congressman Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, visited Manatee County s Public Safety Center on Tuesday and urged residents to take the storm seriously. I remember a while back with Charley, it was a Category 2, it turned into a 4, and it made a be-line exactly to the right, Buchanan said. My suggestion would be obviously barrier islands, whether it s Anna Maria or any of the barrier islands along the West Coast, you have to make sure you are doing everything you can to tighten everything down.
Manatee County braces for winds, flooding and storm surge from Tropical Storm Elsa heraldtribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from heraldtribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.