200,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled in Bradenton after lightning strike, city says
200,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled after lightning struck a Bradenton lift station last week, city officials said in a social media post.
Lift stations help transfer untreated waste to the city’s wastewater plant.
On Thursday, a lightning strike directly hit Lift Station No. 24 at 3810 State Road 64 East and the station lost power, the city said.
As a result, approximately 200,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled from the lift station and from a nearby maintenance hole.
Bradenton reports 200,000-gallon sewage spill
A city vacuum truck was only able to recover about 1,000 gallons of the spill, a city spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The rest of the spill — nearly 200,000 gallons — went into a nearby storm drain leading to local waterways.
The spill site is located about half a mile east of the Braden River and less than a mile south of the Manatee River.
The city said that the area affected by the spill was treated and “returned to normal.”
City officials said the spill was reported “to the appropriate agencies.” Further information about the spill had not appeared on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s pollution notice list as of Wednesday afternoon.
Recent stormy weather also caused issues for other city infrastructure. On Sunday, a power outage at the city’s water treatment plant caused a citywide water outage and led officials to issue a boil water notice.
This story was originally published July 24, 2024 at 2:59 PM.