Some reclaimed water flows into stormwater system
On June 6, about 1,000 gallons of fully treated, reclaimed water spilled from a county mechanical assembly located at the intersection of McIntosh Road and Central Sarasota Parkway, county Public Utilities Department staff has reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
The reclaimed water flowed into an adjacent ditch, the report added.
County workers were able to recover from that ditch a mix of stormwater and reclaimed water totaling approximately 4,000 gallons, the report said.
As soon as county workers arrived at the scene, the report indicates, they closed “isolation valves” to stop the spill.
As the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) explains on its website, “Reclaimed water is highly treated wastewater [that] can be used for irrigation and other uses to extend our water supplies.”
That webpage adds, “There are many benefits to using reclaimed water such as reducing potable water use, decreasing fertilizer application, reducing discharge into rivers and bays from wastewater plants, and most importantly, ensuring a sustainable and cost-effective water supply.”
Some of the spilled reclaimed water did enter the stormwater system after flowing across the road into a canal, the county report noted. Thus, staff was taking water samples, in an effort to protect public health, and notifying property owners and residents in the area, in accord with county protocol, the report pointed out.
The incident began at 11:15 a.m. on June 2, the report said. The situation was resolved by 12:30 p.m., the report added.
In response to a Sarasota News Leader inquiry about the actual cause of the spill, Sam Parker, the communications and outreach coordinator for the county’s Public Utilities Department, explained in a June 4 email that the failure of a mechanical pipe fitting on the assembly caused a joint on the assembly to leak.
The equipment from which the spill flowed is part of the infrastructure associated with the Central County Water Treatment Facility, which stands on Palmer Ranch, the report noted.