An excavator on a Florida Department of Transportation project broke a water line while digging on the west side of East Bay Drive in Holmes Beach, leaving customers there without water for eight hours and causing a two-day boil-water advisory.
Impacted were condo residents at Sunbow Bay Drive North and Westbay Cove South, businesses in Anna Maria Square and the Bank of America, 699 Manatee Ave.
A 72-year-old woman was set to have implant surgery at the dental office of Mariano de la Riva at noon Feb. 2 when the water went out, de la Riva’s patient coordinator Shannon McClasky said.
Water was needed for the compressor at the dental office at 3909 E. Bay Drive, which, in turn, worked other medical equipment.
“It shut us down. Without water, we were out of business,” McClasky said, adding she canceled patients for the afternoon.
LAS Contracting Corp. of Pasco County hired the excavator who hit the line — an unmarked private line — digging to replace part of a drainage pipe, according to DOT public information officer Lauren Hatchell.
In June 2015, the DOT awarded LAS a $446,729 contract to construct a sidewalk, a bus shelter and perform drainage and other improvements between 27th Street and Manatee Avenue. The project is pending final acceptance by the state.
LAS will be responsible for the cost of the repair, Hatchell added.
Manatee County Utilities Department handled the repair, flushed the system and tested for contamination, according to public affairs liaison Amy Pilson.
After the outage, MCUD issued an advisory to customers to boil water or use bottled water for drinking and cooking. The advisory was lifted it at 2:44 p.m. Feb. 4.
Meanwhile, MCUD continues to test the island’s water system to identify under-performing valves, warning users they may experience periodic low water pressure.
MCUD began the testing after a Jan. 21 break left 3,200 customers north of 54th Street on the island without water for two hours.
The break occurred due to corrosion of dissimilar metals in a valve connection, according to Pilson.
Could it happen here?
With the national focus on the lead contamination in water in Flint, Michigan, and a Jan. 21 break in Holmes Beach caused by a corrosion of dissimilar metals, it’s a question people on Anna Maria Island might be asking.
Island residents needn’t worry, according to Manatee County Utilities Department public affairs liaison Amy Pilson.
Pilson said monitoring by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has shown lead is not a concern in the county water system.
Tap water provided by MCUD is a blend of treated surface water from a Lake Manatee reservoir and groundwater pumped from seven wells in a 1,200-foot deep aquifer through a 36-inch pipe to a purification plant.
The DEP performed a source water assessment in 2013 and, according to a 2014 report, the county scored low on dangerous contaminants and leaching based on geology and operating practices.
In April 2014, Flint changed its water source to the Flint River from the Detroit water system, which contributed to leaching of lead into its water supply.