No surface waters affected
Yet another incident with a damaged air release valve (ARV) in the Sarasota County wastewater treatment system resulted in about 2,000 gallons of fully treated, reclaimed water spilling onto the ground near 5501 Eagle Creek Road in Palmer Ranch, county staff has reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
This incident began about 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 2, the FDEP report says.
County crews responded to a call about the situation on Honore Avenue, just south of Legacy Estates Boulevard, the report adds. Upon arrival, the workers determined that an ARV was the focus of the problem, the report says. The crews were able to isolate the ARV to stop the spill, the report notes; then, they recovered approximately all of the reclaimed water.
As Crane Engineering explains, “Air release valves are installed at the highest points in a pipeline where air naturally collects. Air bubbles enter the valve and displace the liquid inside, lowering the liquid level. When the level drops to where it no longer buoys the float, the float drops. This motion pulls the seat away from the orifice, triggering the valve to open and vent the accumulated air into the atmosphere. As the air is vented, liquid re-enters the valve, once again buoying the float, lifting it until the seat presses against the orifice, closing the valve. This cycle automatically repeats as often as necessary to maintain an air-free system.”
Cleanup of the site and notifications to surrounding residents and property owners proceeded according to county protocol, the report adds.
Because no surface waters were affected, no water sampling was necessary, the report points out.
The crews completed their work at the site at 4:30 p.m., the report says.
The ARV is part of the infrastructure connected to the Central County Water Reclamation Facility, which is located on Palmer Ranch, the report notes.