About 10,000 gallons of effluent recovered from site
On March 19 at 826 Tarpon Center Drive in Venice, workers with Tampa Bay Marine hit a sewer force main with an excavator while digging bulkheads for a seawall replacement, resulting in about 1,000 gallons of raw sewage spilling onto the road and into the adjacent stormwater system, City of Venice staff reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
Most of the effluent ended up within the excavation area, the report said.
The force main that was struck had been scheduled to be abandoned before the work began, the report to FDEP explained. When the spill began, the report pointed out, city staff members on site immediately shut down the contributing lift stations.
The stormwater outfall already had been plugged in preparation for the project, the report explained, “so no wastewater made it to surface water, and the portion in the stormwater system was recovered.” Overall, approximately 10,000 gallons was collected from the excavation site, the stormwater system and the road, the report noted.
As the 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. “
The incident began at 9:45 a.m. and was resolved by 10:10 a.m., the report said.
“Fecal samples were taken,” the report pointed out, with preliminary results indicating the concentrations were lower closest to the break and downstream than upstream.
An email thread that the city sent to FDEP showed that the project manager for the City of Venice had confirmed to Tampa Bay Marine that the accident was the company’s responsibility, the report continued. The emails added that the “force main was accurately located” prior to the start of the excavation.