Contractors cited as source of damage at two sites
On Sept. 6, staff of the Sarasota County Public Utilities Department provided four reports to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) regarding spills of approximately 31,100 gallons of raw sewage on Aug. 19 in Sarasota.
Three of those situations involved damage to sewer force mains, while the fourth regarded a problem with a pipeline at the Bahia Vista Estates lift station, just east of the traditionally Amish and Mennonite community of Pinecraft.
As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency points out, “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.”
High Tide Technologies explains, “A wastewater lift station is a pumping station that moves wastewater from a lower elevation to a higher elevation. The benefit of using a lift station in a sewage collection system is that it saves a substantial amount of money in excavation costs, which involves digging for sewer pipes. Sewer pipes live underground, and digging trenches is costly. Installing a wastewater lift station at certain points in a gravity pipeline system saves on front-end construction costs without sacrificing efficiency or functionality. They play an integral role in moving sewage to a wastewater treatment plant.”
In response to a Sarasota News Leader inquiry as to why it appeared that county staff had not provided any of those reports to FDEP prior to Sept. 6, the Public Utilities staff wrote in a Sept. 9 email, “All were initially reported to FDEP 08/21/2024. The email on [Sept. 6] provided updated information regarding the time we became aware of the spill, the time we arrived on site, and the time the spill ceased.”
The first report said that at 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 19, a Public Utilities crew responded to an alarm about a high wet well within the Bahia Vista Estates lift station, which stands at 138 Circle Drive W.
The workers’ investigation determined that “a pipe joint had separated,” the report added. After the flow to the station was diverted, the report continued, the spill ceased at 8:45 a.m.
Repairs were completed, enabling the station to be placed back in operation, the report noted.
Of the approximately 4,500 gallons of sewage spilled, workers were able to recover about 2,500 gallons, the report added. Cleanup of the site and notifications of nearby residents and other property owners were proceeding according to county protocol, the report pointed out. Because surface waters were affected, it said, sampling would be necessary in an effort to ensure public safety.
The initial, Aug. 21 report sent to FDEP noted, “This lift station is currently being visited 2-3 times a week due to the damage that occurred at it from [Tropical Storm] Debby [in early August] and the need for [a] bypass pump. Crews actively control corrosion at the lift stations by wire brushing and recoating the above-ground assemblies. All lift station sites are inspected at a minimum monthly.”
The second report — about an incident that occurred at 5651 Longwood Run Boulevard in Sarasota, starting at 8:45 a.m. on Aug. 19 — involved a contractor whose workers had damaged a 6-inch force main. In that situation, the approximately 10,500 gallons of raw sewage that spilled were contained on site, the report said. About 10,500 gallons were recovered.
The Longwood Run neighborhood is south of University Parkway and north of Desoto Road in Sarasota, a map shows.
Cleanup and notifications proceeded according to protocol, the report continued. “No stormwater structure or surface waters were impacted,” it added, so no sampling would be necessary.
That situation was not resolved until 1 p.m. on Aug. 19, the report said.
Staff planned to file documentation with the county’s risk management staff in an effort to get the contractor to reimburse the county for the expenses resulting from the damage, the report pointed out.
In the third incident, which occurred at 488 Firebush Drive in Nokomis, the Public Utilities Department was alerted at 11:35 a.m. on Aug. 19 of a possible wastewater spill. Upon investigation, workers determined that the 4-inch force main was damaged. “Crews were able to stop the leak,” the report said, but approximately 2,100 gallons of raw sewage spilled in the surrounding area. Workers recovered about 10,000 gallons that represented a mixture of wastewater and stormwater, the report added.
Once again, cleanup and notifications were proceeding “per protocol,” the report noted. “Surface waters were impacted,” the report continued, so sampling would be necessary.
That report said the spill was resolved by 1:36 p.m.
Further, the report noted, “We are still evaluating what caused the crack” in the force main.
The fourth report focused on a contractor’s damage to a 6-inch sewer force main that staff said had been hit at 4745 Clark Road, near the intersection of Sawyer Loop Road. In that incident, about 14,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled, of which approximately 12,000 gallons were recovered, the report said.
That spill was contained on the site, the report noted.
Once again, cleanup of the area and notifications for surrounding residents and property owners were “proceeding per protocol,” the report added. “No stormwater structure or surface waters were impacted,” it said, so no sampling of water bodies would be necessary.
Public Utilities Department staff had been alerted at 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 19 that “wastewater [was] bubbling in the grass” at the site, the report pointed out. The situation was resolved by 5:15 p.m., the report said.
County staff would be filing a risk management claim in the aftermath of this situation, as well, to obtain “reimbursement from the contractor,” the report noted.