Gov. Ron DeSantis is declaring a state of emergency in one Florida county due to a leak at a wastewater pond that could lead to flooding.
Residents who live near the Piney Point reservoir in Manatee County were ordered to evacuate as a result of a possible breach of mixed saltwater from the south reservoir, according to Protecting Florida Together, a state website run by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
“Due to a possible breach of mixed saltwater from the south reservoir at the Piney Point facility, I have declared a State of Emergency for Manatee County to ensure resources are allocated for necessary response & recovery,” DeSantis tweeted Saturday afternoon.
Due to a possible breach of mixed saltwater from the south reservoir at the Piney Point facility, I have declared a State of Emergency for Manatee County to ensure resources are allocated for necessary response & recovery.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 3, 2021
On Saturday evening, Manatee County Public Safety officials expanded the mandatory evacuation area around the breached Piney Point reservoir half a mile west and one mile southwest.
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Between two and three million gallons of saltwater continue to flow out of the pond every day, but the chances are increasing that a large section of the pond will wash away, causing an uncontrolled release that would send as much as 380 million gallons of process water rushing out, according to Manatee County’s website.
Officials said the leak in the containment wall at the reservoir, which began last week, could lead to a structural collapse at any moment.
Jacob Sauer, director of public safety for Manatee County, said officials continue attempting to repair the leak, adding that efforts by Manatee County Public Works to fix the leak on Friday were unsuccessful.
“At approximately 10:30 a.m. on April 3 today, on-site engineers deemed the situation to be escalating, and all command staff and residents were again issued an evacuation notice,” he said during a press conference on Saturday. “A portion of the containment wall at the leak site shifted laterally, signifying that structural collapse could occur at any time.”
Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes estimated it will take 10 to 12 days to drain the reservoir at the current drainage rate of 22,000 gallons per minute.
“What’s being done now is basically to move as much water out of there in a controlled fashion in addition to looking at possibly flooding some of the existing Piney Point low areas so at least this material stays on Piney Point grounds with as much volume as possible,” he added.
DeSantis announced he will be traveling to Manatee County on Sunday morning to meet with local officials regarding Piney Point in a tweet while urging residents to heed local evacuation orders.
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While Saur noted that the area is not heavily populated, the Piney Point facility is located approximately 40 miles south of Tampa, which has approximately 400,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Residents of the region are encouraged to visit Manatee County’s website for updated information about evacuations.
