County workers recover about 36,000 gallons
About 41,000 gallons of fully treated, reclaimed water spilled onto Clark Road and into a trench when a contractor hit a 12-inch reclaimed water pipeline on July 25, county staff reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
Vacuum trucks recovered approximately 36,000 gallons of the reclaimed water, the report pointed out.
The contractor was working on the relocation of utility lines in conjunction with the efforts of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to construct a diverging diamond to replace the interchange at Interstate 75 and Clark Road, based on the information in the report.
The location of the incident was 5478 Clark Road, the report noted. That site is east of the intersection of Honore Avenue and Clark Road, a map shows. Itis close to a Bank of America branch.
No surface waters were involved, the report continued, so no water sampling would be necessary.
The clean-up of the site and notifications for owners and residents of surrounding properties proceeded according to county protocol, the report added.
The 12-inch pipeline is part of the infrastructure associated with the county’s Central County Water Reclamation Facility, which stands on Palmer Ranch, the report said.
The incident began at 12:30 p.m. on July 25, the report noted; the problems were resolved by 7:45 p.m.
As FDOT explains, the interchange of I-75 and Clark Road is being reconstructed as an eight-lane divided diverging diamond Interchange (DDI). The project includes reconstruction of all on and off ramps in both the northbound and southbound directions, along with the construction of buffered bike lanes and sidewalks along both sides of Clark Road. Completion of the project is expected in late 2024, FDOT says.
A county document about the utility lines relocation explains that, on July 7, 2020, the County Commission approved what is called a “Utility Work by Highway Contractor Agreement” with FDOT that involves the removal of two sections of a water main along Clark Road, as well as approximately 5,000 liner feet of a reclaimed watermain along Clark Road from just west of I-75 to Hummingbird Avenue to the east.
The contractor is Sacyr Construction, which has an office in Lakewood Ranch. It won the contract with a low bid of $1,444,000, the county project document adds.
Trenchlesspedia explains, “ A water main is a primary underground pipe in a municipal water distribution system. It is a major artery that supplies water to smaller pipes on the way to homes and businesses. Water mains take clean water from a city’s water treatment plant to communities that need it and is, therefore, a critical part of a nation’s utility infrastructure. The pipes transport a high volume of water under pressure to neighborhoods that are depending on water mains to bring them clean water from the [local government’s] water treatment facility.”
County staff issued the formal Notice to Proceed for the project on June 17, 2021, the document notes.
The installation of the new reclaimed water main began in March 2022 “and is approximately 90% complete,” the document says.
The project is expected to be completed this month, the document adds.