Officials rushing to stop ‘catastrophic flood’ of contaminated water in Florida

From the Washington Post, April 5, 2021

(Associate Professor Jayne Gardiner is quoted in this national news media article.)

Officials were scrambling Sunday to prevent a “catastrophic flood” after the lining in a reservoir holding hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater sprang a leak. They warned that the breached reservoir’s total collapse could send a 20-foot wall of contaminated water crashing down into the surrounding area.

Manatee County officials on Saturday ordered people in more than 300 homes to urgently evacuate the area around an old phosphate plant at Piney Point, where officials described a deterioration leak in one of the reservoir containment walls.

“If you’re in an evacuation area and you have not heeded that, you need to think twice and follow the orders,” acting Manatee County administrator Scott Hopes warned.

As state and local authorities warned of potential flooding, scientists expressed concern about longer-term consequences, including whether the leaking water could drive algae blooms that could be fatal to marine life.

“What we’re looking at now is trying to prevent — and respond to if need be — a catastrophic flood issue,” said Florida Gov. Ron Desantis (R), who declared a state of emergency on Saturday for affected counties.

Officials said crews have been pumping water out of the reservoir, a controlled discharge into surrounding waterways that is meant to lower the reservoir’s volume and reduce water pressure in the event of a total failure.

More than 23,500 gallons per minute — more than 33 million gallons of water per day — were being pumped out of the pond, Desantis said during a Sunday news conference. He said the Florida National Guard was flying in additional pumps to accelerate the process.