County crews complete repairs after learning of incident
Late in the afternoon of Sept. 23, Sarasota County Public Utilities Department crews found that approximately 2,500 gallons of fully treated, reclaimed water had spilled onto the golf course and into a pond on the grounds of the Jacaranda West Country Club in Venice, county staff reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
The country club is located at 950 Sklar Drive W., the report pointed out.
The initial investigation found that a fitting on a 16-inch reclaimed water main line that goes to the golf course had failed, the report explained. “Crews were able to isolate the line and complete the repairs,” the report added.
As Trenchlesspedia.com explains, “A water main is a primary underground pipe” that supplies water to smaller pipes.
Notifications of nearby property owners, clean-up procedures, and water sampling were proceeding “per protocol,” the report said.
The spill began about 4 p.m. on Sept. 23, the report added. It took until 5 p.m. for the county crews to complete their work at the site, the report said.
The affected water main is part of the infrastructure associated with the county’s Venice Gardens Water Reclamation Facility, which stands at 375 Venice East Blvd., the report noted.
The County Commission has agreed to the conversion of the Venice Gardens facility to Advanced Wastewater Treatment status, which will dramatically reduce the level of nitrogen in the reclaimed water that the plant produces. Nitrogen has been identified as one of the primary sources of food for the red tide algae, Karenia brevis.