About 12,000 gallons of sewage and stormwater recovered before effluent could enter water bodies
Just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17, the City of Sarasota Utilities Department received a report about raw sewage spilling from a hose located at 800 N. Lemon Ave. Ultimately, a total of 350 gallons of sewage flowed through a swale into the stormwater system, the city reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
However, the report explained, the sewage “was contained behind a weir in the stormwater structure.”
City crews recovered approximately 12,000 gallons of mixed sewage and stormwater when the stormwater structure was vacuumed “on the upstream side of the weir,” the report added. The effluent was “disposed of … at the city’s wastewater treatment facility,” the report said.
City staff blamed a contractor for the incident, the report explained. “Upon investigation,” the responding crews “found that the contractor … had been working on … bypass pumps,” the report said. “When the pumps were reactivated, a wye fitting blew apart, causing sewage to spill from the hose.”
The report identified the contractor as Arox Land Development of Sarasota.
The WhatIsPiping.com website explains, “Pipe Wye fittings may not be common knowledge for most, but they play a central role in efficiently managing the flow of liquids or gases within systems. Imagine a network of pipelines, elaborately structured to streamline the flow — this is where the humble Wye fitting comes into play. Shaped like the letter ‘Y’, it helps split or combine flow efficiently.”
The city report said, “The contractor repaired the wye/hose connection, while the city crew and subcontractor (S.O.S. Septic) treated the area with lime,” hosed it down and performed the vacuuming.
Since the spill “was contained on site,” the report continued, no sampling of nearby water bodies was required.
Moreover, the report pointed out, city staff “is requiring the contractor to physically monitor this bypass 24/7 until project completion. Additionally, city staff is compiling an estimate of costs associated with this incident to be billed to the contractor.”
The site of the spill is home to a low-income retirement center operated by the Diocese of Venice, The Sarasota News Leader learned. The facility is called Casa Santa Marta II.
The incident began at 4:55 p.m. on June 17, the report noted; it was not resolved until 11 p.m. that day.