Last week, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection approved the pumping of wastewater into the Tampa Bay ecosystem from a reservoir at Piney Point – a former phosphate plant in Manatee County. A leak in the liner of the reservoir has caused a partial breach in one of the containment walls and officials hope that pumping more than 30 million gallons of wastewater out of the reservoir will relieve pressure on the walls and reduce the chance of an uncontrolled major breach.
More than 300 hundred homes and multiple businesses in the area around Piney Point have been evacuated. State and local officials are coordinating efforts and a state of emergency has been declared by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
On Monday, expect more updates, as well as a 12:30 p.m. press conference with U.S. Rep Vern Buchanan.
What are the latest efforts to avert a breach at Piney Point?
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has mobilized state resources to fend off a potentially catastrophic spill of hundreds of millions of gallons of polluted industrial wastewater from the former Piney Point fertilizer processing plant into nearby homes and businesses by working to double the speed at which wastewater is being dumped into Tampa Bay.
What are the latest efforts to avert a breach at Piney Point?
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has mobilized state resources to fend off a potentially catastrophic spill of hundreds of millions of gallons of polluted industrial wastewater from the former Piney Point fertilizer processing plant into nearby homes and businesses by working to double the speed at which wastewater is being dumped into Tampa Bay.
The Florida National Guard airlifted more pumps into the area and officials hope that they will be able to double the current 33 million gallons a day of wastewater they are pumping from Piney Point into Tampa Bay to close to 70 million gallons a day.
There are only approximately 300 million gallons of wastewater left in the damaged reservoir at Piney Point.
What’s the status of evacuations due to Piney Point?
More than 300 households and multiple businesses have been evacuated from the area surrounding Piney Point. Some have been provided with accommodation by Manatee County and the Red Cross. In addition, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office announced that they were moving 345 inmates of the nearby Manatee County Jail to an undisclosed location, in order to clear the ground floor of the facility in case of flooding.
At the press conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday, Manatee County Acting Administrator Scott Hopes said that if there is a full breach of the walls at the damaged Piney Point reservoir, models show that “as high as a 20-foot wall of water” could surge into the area.
“So if you are in an evacuation area and you have not heeded that, you need to think twice and follow the orders,” Hopes said.