Incident occurs near intersection of McIntosh Road and Central Sarasota Parkway
On Dec. 5, a contractor’s crew working on an irrigation system cut into a 2-inch PVC pipe close to a curb stop, leading to the spill of approximately 2,000 gallons of fully treated, reclaimed water in the southeast quadrant of the intersection of McIntosh Road and Central Sarasota Parkway, the Sarasota County Public Utilities staff has reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
Sacramento State University explains that a curb stop is a “water service shutoff valve located in a water service pipe near the curb and between the water main and the building. This valve is usually operated by a wrench or valve key and is used to start or stop flows in the water service line to a building.”
The incident began about 9:30 a.m. and was resolved by 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 5, county staff told FDEP.
The reclaimed water that flowed out of the pipe is used for irrigation, the report pointed out. The pipe is part of the Central County Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) infrastructure, the report noted; that plant stands on Palmer Ranch.
Upon arrival at the scene, county staff turned off two 10-inch valves and replaced the curb stop, which stopped the spill, the report explained. The reclaimed water had flowed into a nearby ditch, the report said. Staff was able to recover approximately 5,000 gallons of a mix of reclaimed water and stormwater, the report said.
The two 10-inch valves were put back into operation, the report continued, and staff was proceeding to notify surrounding residents and property owners and cleaning up the site according to county protocol.