LONGBOAT KEY – A wastewater pipeline between Longboat Key and the mainland broke in Manatee County, spilling raw sewage and disrupting service to the town.
The spill was reported in a notice by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection June 30, the same day the pipeline was repaired.
It was not clear what caused the break or how much sewage spilled but a rough estimate was 26 million gallons.
“Given the location of the spill in wetlands adjacent to the bay and the reported volume, it is easy to conclude that sewage impacted the bay and likely continues to do so,” said Justin Bloom, founder of Suncoast Waterkeeper, a nonprofit environmental watchdog group. “The mangroves and wetlands are about 100 years from the bay and are hydrologically connected. Where else is 26 million-28 million gallons going to go?”
The spill was from a pipeline that carries about 2 million gallons of sewage a day from Longboat Key to the Manatee County wastewater treatment plant, 5101 65th St. W., Bradenton.
A DEP record, a “notice of submission” based on information from the Suncoast Waterkeeper, was released June 30 and said the discharge started as early as June 17.
Suncoast Waterkeeper said the break was in the vicinity of Long Bar Pointe, a stretch of mangrove shoreline along Sarasota Bay. And the initial record also said the pipeline runs underground through the site for Carlos Beruff’s development.
A subsequent “notice of submission” issued by the DEP July 2 and based on a report from Longboat Key said the break in the 20-inch iron wastewater force main was discovered June 29.
The notice said the break occurred on undeveloped land — not in the portion of pipe under Sarasota Bay.
“Initially, the town and Manatee County Utilities staff believed there may have been meter and equipment issues causing anomalous flow readings before the discovery of the break,” according to the notice.
The town sent alerts June 29 to commercial and residential properties encouraging people to “minimize water/wastewater usage to control the amount of effluent” in the pipeline, the only one servicing the town, until it was repaired.
The alerts cautioned that repairs could take days to complete, creating concern for sanitation during the coronavirus pandemic and a surge of beachgoers over the July 4 weekend.
However, the most recent DEP notice said the pipeline was repaired and service restored at 5:30 p.m. June 30.
Independent environmental consultants were to determine the impact of the spill and identify actions for mitigation, according to the town, which reported to the DEP that “roughly 25.8 million gallons” of sewage was discharged.
A news release from Longboat Key said the amount of discharge is still being quantified.
Suncoast Waterkeeper also was evaluating the situation, as well as conducting water quality sampling in the bay at the shoreline near the spill site.
Town officials have discussed the replacement of the pipeline — estimated to cost about $20 million — for years and, during a town meeting June 1, staff outlined a design and permitting process for a “redundant” pipeline.
In 2016, the town received a report that the pipeline, more than 40 years old, “has a remaining useful life of 20-25 years,” according to the news release.
In a separate incident, the DEP said 350,000 gallons of wastewater and water spilled into Sarasota Bay June 2, after a break in a force main during construction activity near 34th Street West and 60th Avenue West in Bradenton.