Official site of The Week Magazine, offering commentary and analysis of the day s breaking news and current events as well as arts, entertainment, people and gossip, and political cartoons.
Florida officials scramble to prevent catastrophic flood of contaminated water from reservoir
Paulina Firozi and Brittany Shammas, The Washington Post
April 4, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail
This aerial photo taken from an airplane shows a reservoir near the old Piney Point phosphate mine, Saturday, April 3, 2021 in Bradenton, Fla. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday after a significant leak at a large pond of wastewater threatened to flood roads and burst a system that stores polluted waters. The pond where the leak was discovered is at the old Piney Point phosphate mine, sitting in a stack of phosphogypsum, a waste product from manufacturing fertilizer that is radioactive. (Tiffany Tompkins/The Bradenton Herald via AP)Tiffany Tompkins/Associated Press
Florida works to avoid catastrophic failure of wastewater pond
By CHRIS O MEARA and ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON
Published article
PALMETTO, Fla. - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that crews are working to prevent the collapse of a large wastewater pond in the Tampa Bay area while evacuating the area to avoid a catastrophic flood.
Manatee County officials say the latest models show that a breach at the old phosphate plant reservoir has the potential to gush out 340 million gallons of water in a matter of minutes, risking a 20-foot-high wall of water. What we are looking at now is trying to prevent and respond to, if need be, a real catastrophic flood situation, DeSantis said at a press conference after flying over the old Piney Point phosphate mine.