Estimated 70,000 gallons of wastewater discharged after heavy rains in Bradenton, DEP says

Officials estimate 70,000 gallons of wastewater was discharged near a Bradenton elementary school after a report of potential sanitary sewer overflow, according to a Florida Department of Environmental Protection notice of pollution.

What remains unclear is if there was an impact to water sources.

Amy Pilson, spokeswoman for Manatee County Utilities, said they have not gotten results back, but the discharge did not affect river or drinking water.

Oneco Elementary School is near the spill location, according to FDEP.

Manatee County Utilities Department staff, after getting a call about a possible sewer overflow, discovered five manholes and several cleanouts were discharging wastewater Wednesday in Bradenton, according to the notice.

Cleanouts, Pilson explained, are access points to the sewage system from yards.

They were at:

• 2204 22nd St. E.
• 3103 22nd St. E.
• 3207 21st St. Ct. E.
• 3204 21st St. E.
• 2220 36th Ave. E.

Some of the wastewater from two of the cleanouts also backed up into a home in the 2100 block of 30th Avenue East, the notice reported.

It was suspected a homeowner was draining their property through a cleanout.

“When that quantity of water goes in so fast, the system can’t keep up,” Pilson said.

The discharges, according to the notice, occurred in one section of a collection system that flows into the Samoset 1 Lift Station. The station was not able to keep up with the flow also due to the excessive rainfall in the area.

Some of the wastewater did go into a drainage ditch, so Wastewater Compliance staff are investigating to see if there was an impact to surface water because of the spill, according to the notice.

Trucks were used to maintain the wastewater level in the collection system to keep further discharges at bay.

Final cleanup is expected to be done Thursday.

Pilson urged residents not to lift manholes or open cleanouts in attempts to prevent flooding or to drain yards.

This story was originally published August 15, 2019 at 12:38 PM.