Storm Sends 30,000 Gallons of Untreated Wastewater into Lakeland Waterways (2024)

More than 30,000 gallons of untreated wastewater spilled into Lakeland waterways as the outer bands of Hurricane Debby soaked the city on Sunday and Monday.

The heavy rains overwhelmed some of the city’s sewer lines and one lift station. Lakeland officials reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that:

• 27,000 gallons of untreated wastewater spilled into the Lake Hunter ditch.
• 3,000 gallons flowed into Lake Parker.
• 250 gallons flowed into the southeast part of Lake Bonny.

Lakeland officials have been testing the affected waterways daily for E. coli and fecal coliform bacteria. Some samples have come back above acceptable levels, but city officials said they can do little else besides monitor the situation.

The spills

Lake Hunter ditch: The biggest release of wastewater was into the Lake Hunter ditch. City employees discovered a manhole overflowing at 7:30 a.m. Monday, according to Wastewater Collection Manager Richard Reude. They worked through the day using a pumping truck to pull extra wastewater out of the collection system. The overflow stopped at 3:30 p.m.

“Approximately 27,000 gallons were spilled with no recovery and flowed directly into the Lake Hunter ditch,” Reude wrote in a report to the FDEP.

Lakes and Stormwater Manager Laurie Smith said that discharge did not reach Lake Hunter.

Lake Parker: The second-largest spill did enter a lake. Reude told the FDEP that his department was notified at 9:30 a.m. Monday that another manhole was overflowing. A crew investigated and found “the collection system was inundated due to heavy rains from Hurricane Debby.”

Workers used a Vactor truck to pull extra water out of the sewer line until it returned to normal levels. The spill stopped at 4 a.m. Tuesday. but “approximately 3,000 gallons was spilled with no recovery and flowed directly into Lake Parker,” Reude reported.

Smith said the untreated wastewater entered the lake through a stormwater drain. Her department has been collecting water samples from five locations: the discharge point, 100 feet north of the discharge point, 100 feet south of the discharge point, 300 feet into the lake and the center of the lake.

She said one sample — taken from 100 feet north of the discharge point — had E. coli levels “above the state standard.” None of the other sites have been beyond acceptable levels. She said the Lakes and Stormwater team will continue to take samples daily until they are all clear.

Lake Bonny: The smallest spill happened when a level sensor at a pump station failed at 6 a.m. Monday. A city crew turned the pumps on, stopping the spill at 7:30 a.m., but “approximately 250 gallons spilled with no recovery and flowed directly into Lake Bonny,” Reude reported.

Smith said the untreated wastewater actually flowed into Little Lake Bonny — the small lobe at the southeast end of the lake. In this case, it came from surface flow, rather than a storm drain. Her department collected samples from three locations: the general area where the wastewater entered, 100 feet into the lake from that point and the center of the Little Lake Bonny.

The samples showed fecal coliform “at a level slightly above the state standards,” she said, adding that the Lakes & Stormwater team will continue to monitor the lake.

“At this time there are no plans for any remediation,” Reude said. “The spills went directly into the waterbodies, and no clean-up actions could be performed.”

The cause

Reude said, unfortunately, wastewater spills are fairly common after major storms. The volume of rain from Hurricane Debby would challenge any city, but it’s especially difficult for one like Lakeland, which has older infrastructure.

“The excess water that entered into our system is from a combination of failing pipes, failing service laterals, leaking manholes and manhole covers, as well as illicit connections of rain downspouts to the sewer,” Reude wrote in an email.

“In the case of the 250 gallons into Lake Bonny, besides the amount of water coming into the pump station, there was also a sensor failure that occurred and our crews could not get there fast enough to turn the pumps on by hand to prevent the overflow from happening.”

Historic infrastructure: Lakeland is working to replace clay and iron sewer pipes, some of which are more than 50 years old, with PVC lines. The biggest project will be a more than $40 million upgrade of the Western Trunk Line that carries much of the city’s waste.

Lakeland is not alone: Many Florida municipalities reported wastewater spills in the aftermath of Debby including: Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater,Sarasota and Bradenton. Spills were also reported in Georgia and North Carolina.