Incident results from problem with lift station, report indicates
On Aug. 23, about 6,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled from the lift station located at Sarasota County’s Venice Gardens Water Reclamation Facility (WRF), which stands at 375 Venice East Blvd. in Venice, county staff reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) on Sept. 11, The Sarasota News Leader has learned.
All of the effluent was absorbed into the ground, the report says.
The report did not indicate any reason for the delay in notification of FDEP.
The incident began at 12:15 a.m. on Aug. 23, the report notes; it was resolved by 12:35 a.m. Workers “responded quickly” to an alert provided through technology that the staff uses for its Solid Waste systems, the report explains.
No waterways were affected, the report adds. Therefore, it says, no sampling of water bodies was required.
Clean-up of the site and the required notifications for members of the public, to ensure their safety, were handled in accord with county protocols, the report points out.
Moreover, it says, “The controls at the lift station are being evaluated to determine the cause of the failure.”
As the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains, “Wastewater lift stations are facilities designed to move wastewater from lower to higher elevation through pipes. Key elements of lift stations include a wastewater receiving well (wet-well), often equipped with a screen or grinding to remove coarse materials; pumps and piping with associated valves; motors; a power supply system; an equipment control and alarm system; and an odor control system and ventilation system.”
Work is underway at the Venice Gardens WRF to convert it to Advanced Wastewater Treatment status. The improvements will cut down significantly on the amount of nutrients in the reclaimed water resulting from the treatment process, county staff has explained. Construction began in the spring of 2025 and is expected to be concluded in the summer of 2028, as noted in a county Capital Projects Department update for this month.
The capacity of the facility also is being doubled — from 3 million gallons per day to 6 million per day.