County pipeline leak blamed
About 6,000 gallons of sewage spilled early in the morning of Friday, April 18, at 200 S. Bay Drive in Osprey as a result of a leak, the Sarasota County Public Utilities Department has reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
County crews were able to recover approximately 6,900 gallons of sewage and stormwater, the report pointed out. They used a county vacuum truck, it said.
Staff was alerted on April 18 to sewage leaking near 1400 S. Bay Drive, the report said. However, the exact location of the leak proved to be the intersection of South Bay Drive and Yacht Harbor Drive, the report noted. The crews that arrived on the scene at 8 a.m. verified the leak, the report continued, and “quickly jumped into action, shutting down, lift stations and isolating the force main valve.”
As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains, “Force mains are pipelines that convey wastewater under pressure from the discharge side of a pump or pneumatic ejector to a discharge point. Pumps or compressors located in a lift station provide the energy for wastewater conveyance in force mains.”
County workers also utilized pumper trucks located at nearby lift stations “that were shut down to maintain the system while repairs were made to prevent any further spill,” the report explained.
“The nearby [stormwater] structure was affected, and bodies of water were impacted,” necessitating the collection of water samples, the report noted.
Notifications to surrounding property owners and residents, along with the clean-up process, proceeded “per protocol,” the report added.
Moreover, county staff members cut out the affected, 6-inch, cast iron section of the pipeline and installed 12 feet of new PVC pipeline “with a 6-inch gate valve for better isolation [of leaks] in the future,” the report said.
The incident began at 12:45 a.m. on April 18, the report noted; crews had the situation resolved by 10:30 a.m.
The infrastructure involved in the incident is associated with the county’s Central County Water Reclamation Facility, which stands on Palmer Ranch, the report noted.