Our local journalists are covering the situation in Piney Point and possible impacts to the area. It s a situation our newsroom has been covering and highlighting for years. Local journalism like this is supported by our readers. If you re a subscriber we thank you. And if you d like to subscribe, please see our current offers here.
It s been almost a week since a significant leak at a large pond of wastewater along Tampa Bay threatened to flood roads and burst a system that stores polluted waters.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection approved the pumping of wastewater into the Tampa Bay ecosystem from the wastewater reservoir to relieve pressure on the containment walls.
Longboat Key town commissioners voted unanimously Monday to move forward with a pair of projects to satisfy a state consent order connected to the town s June 2020 sewage line break.
The town is proposing to bypass, clean, repair and line a wet well at Master Lift Station D on Gulf Bay Road, which would cost about $182,000. The plan also includes spending another $100,000 to replace a 2006 backup generator at the lift station.
For now, commissioners decided to forego enhancing the seawall at Bayfront Park. There was also consideration of conducting a living shoreline study with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program.
Staff Report
Herald-Tribune journalists are covering the situation in Piney Point and possible impacts to the area, like we have for over 20 years. Local journalism like this is supported by our readers. If you re a subscriber we thank you. And if you d like to subscribe, please see our current offers here.
What is the situation at Piney Point on Wednesday?
More than 100 people and pets that were being sheltered in hotels can return home, businesses can reopen and most roads in the area, including a section of U.S. 41 that had been closed, are now open.
“This is very much under control now, said Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes.
CURT ANDERSON
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. 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.
Meanwhile, the agency said dozens of pumps and 10 vacuum trucks have been deployed to remove 35 million gallons of wastewater per day into the Tampa Bay estuary, where 11 different sampling operations are monitoring water quality and considering ways of minimizing algae blooms that kill marine life and make beachgoing hazardous to humans in the tourism-dependent s
Evacuation ends as officials in Florida say risk of a Piney Point catastrophe has lowered gazettextra.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gazettextra.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.