“Imminent” collapse of wastewater reservoir in Florida forces evacuations – 20-foot “wall of water” if reservoir breaches – Workers try to prevent “real catastrophic flood situation”
By Raja Razek and Alaa Elassar
4 April 2021
(CNN) – Response teams in Manatee County Florida are trying to prevent a “real catastrophic flood situation” in the Piney Point reservoir area, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday after taking an aerial tour the area.
The governor assured the public that the water being discharged to nearby Port Manatee is not radioactive.
The Manatee County Public Safety Department declared a state of emergency on Saturday and ordered a complete evacuation of the Piney Point reservoir site and surrounding areas due a leak that could cause a collapse of phosphogypsum stacks, radioactive waste that is created during fertilizer production and phosphate rock mining.
“What we’re looking at now is trying to prevent and respond to, if need be, a real catastrophic flood situation,” DeSantis said. “The goal is to ensure the integrity of the stack system as quickly as possible in order to minimize impacts to local residents and to prevent an uncontrolled discharge.”
The leak in the containment wall was discovered about a week ago, and residents in the area were evacuated on Thursday as officials warned the Tampa-area reservoir could cause structural collapse at any time.
DeSantis said Manatee County public safety officials sent out evacuation notices to residents and businesses in the surrounding area and assisted with the evacuation of 316 homes that were in the evacuation zone near Piney Point.
Onsite engineers said a controlled release was necessary to prevent a “catastrophic failure,” according to the governor.
Controlled discharges that began on March 30 and continued Sunday are averaging about 35 million gallons per day, he added. The Florida National Guard is dropping off additional pumps, which “will be fed into surrounding waterways,” to help quickly decrease the water levels in the reservoir, DeSantis said. [more]
Florida Officials Warn of 20-Foot ‘Wall of Water’ if Reservoir Breaches
By Christopher Mele
4 April 2021
(The New York Times) – The authorities in Florida said on Sunday that they were making progress in their efforts to drain a leaking reservoir holding more than 300 million gallons of wastewater but warned that were it to breach, it could result in a 20-foot wall of water.
Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, warned that residents needed to be prepared for “further degradation” of the reservoir, which is part of a system of ponds connected to a former phosphate mine in Piney Point, Fla., south of Tampa.
Scott Hopes, the acting administrator for Manatee County, said the reservoir was down to about 340 million gallons but warned that models suggest that if the reservoir were to give way at that volume, it could result in a “20-foot wall of water” cascading across residential and commercial areas.
“If you are in an evacuation area, and you have not heeded that, you need to think twice and follow the orders,” he said.
Mr. Hopes reiterated those warnings at another news conference on Sunday afternoon. By Tuesday, the situation should be in a “much better position,” he said, though he cautioned that “we are not out of the critical area yet.” [more]
Florida Officials Warn of 20-Foot ‘Wall of Water’ if Reservoir Breaches
‘Imminent’ Collapse of Wastewater Reservoir in Florida Forces Evacuations
By Bryan Pietsch and Marie Fazio
3 April 2021
(The New York Times) – A reservoir in Florida that holds nearly 400 million gallons of wastewater from a former phosphate mine was leaking on Saturday, prompting hundreds of evacuations, the authorities said.
Crews were “doing their best to control the outflow” of contaminated water into a creek at Piney Point in Florida, the site of a former phosphate mine that is south of Tampa, said Vanessa Baugh, the chairwoman of the Manatee County Commission.
The spillage was an “imminent hazard” that posed “an immediate and substantial danger to human health, safety, welfare and the environment,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis, who issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency.
An initial leak in the 79-acre reservoir, which is a part of a system of ponds, was reported on March 26 but the situation deteriorated in recent days. [more]
‘Imminent’ Collapse of Wastewater Reservoir in Florida Forces Evacuations
