County staff reports inability to recover any of the effluent
A break in an 8-inch sewer force main at the Sarasota County lift station located at the intersection of Stickney Point Road and Beechwood Avenue resulted in about 3,000 gallons of sewage spilling into the adjacent stormwater structure, county staff has reported.
“No recovery [of the sewage] was possible due to site conditions,” a county report to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) said.
The intersection is one that leads into the Pine Shores Estates neighborhood.
A sewer force main is a pipeline that conveys wastewater under pressure from a lower to a higher elevation, the Environmental Protection Agency explains.
The incident was discovered at 11 a.m. on Jan. 8. Staff had completed its response by 4:30 p.m. that day, according to details staff sent to FDEP.
“The crews were able to quickly stop the spill utilizing both in-house pumper and vacuum trucks,” with the help of the county’s hauling contractors, the report noted.
Repairs were completed on Jan. 8, the report added, and the cleanup and notifications were “proceeding per protocol.”
County Public Utilities Department staff has steps in place to pursue whenever such spills take place.
The lift station is part of the Bee Ridge Water Reclamation Facility’s service area, the report noted. The Bee Ridge plant is located on Lorraine Road in Sarasota.