Bradenton releases 130 million gallons of sewage into Manatee River after hurricanes

Update: The City of Bradenton reported an additional spill of over 29 million gallons of raw and partially treated wastewater on Tuesday, bringing the total of recent spills to over 136 million gallons.

The City of Bradenton has pumped millions more gallons of sewage into the Manatee River in recent weeks as Hurricanes Helene and Milton overpowered its troubled wastewater plant.

The Bradenton Herald previously reported on sewage spills totaling at least 64 million gallons during and after Hurricane Debby. Since then, city officials have reported additional spills of over 72 million gallons into the Manatee River.

Sewage discharges can harm water quality by adding harmful bacteria that make water unsafe for swimming and excess nutrients that can fuel harmful algal blooms and kill marine life and seagrass.

Bradenton officials have acknowledged that the city’s sewage spills are a dire problem that needs to be addressed.

“That’s why you see over $30 million in improvements being done at the plant as well as lift station repairs and capital improvements,” City Administrator Rob Perry said after Hurricane Debby.

Leaders of the environmental advocacy group Suncoast Waterkeeper say the millions of gallons are adding up to take a toll on local water quality and wildlife. The group says its legal settlement reached with the city in 2022 will hold officials accountable until the sewage spills stop.

“We are over a year into our settlement, and (Bradenton’s) done a lot of work,” Suncoast Waterkeeper founder and lawyer Justin Bloom said in a recent video. “They’re committed to fixing the problems. They’ve also had some setbacks, and unfortunately, there have been some major spills and ongoing spills.”

Bradenton reports chlorine water spill

In addition to the sewage spills, Bradenton recently reported a discharge of 18 million gallons of water potentially contaminated with chlorine into the Manatee River. The city’s wastewater plant ran out of a chemical used to remove chlorine from treated wastewater due to hurricane-related shipping delays, a report said.

Chlorine is used as a disinfectant to remove harmful organisms from wastewater. But if not stripped from the water afterward, chlorine and its byproducts can harm the environment, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

“...Any free chlorine remaining in the water, even at low concentrations, is highly toxic to beneficial aquatic life,” the Environmental Protection Agency said in a 2004 report on wastewater treatment. “Therefore, removal of even trace amounts of free chlorine by dechlorination is often needed to protect fish and aquatic life.”

Sewage spills a chronic problem for Bradenton

Bradenton’s wastewater plant is slated for upgrades over the next decade to expand its capacity and prevent discharges to the Manatee River.

But in the meantime, it continues to be a chronic source of pollution for the waterway, which feeds into Lower Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

“The City of Bradenton needs to do a lot of work to fix their system and to make it comply with the law and to become more resilient,” Bloom said.

Suncoast Waterkeeper’s concerns are underscored by recent reports showing that Bradenton’s wastewater discharges into the river exceed state limits for nutrients that contribute to pollution.

Under the terms of the group’s settlement with the city, Bradenton must pay financial penalties for spills, exceeding nutrient limits and other violations. The money collected goes to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program for environmental restoration projects.

Millions of gallons sewage spilled in Manatee County

Local governments reported millions of gallons of sewage spilled over the last six weeks, including several major spills attributed to Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene.

Bradenton spill reports:

• Bradenton reported a discharge of 12.75 million gallons of partially treated sewage into the Manatee River from Sept. 6 to Sept. 8.
• Bradenton reported a discharge of 9 million gallons of partially treated sewage into the Manatee River from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2, immediately after Hurricane Helene.
• Bradenton reported a discharge of 700,000 gallons of partially treated sewage into the Manatee River on Oct. 4.
• Bradenton reported a discharge of 20 million gallons of partially treated sewage into the Manatee River from Oct. 9 to Oct. 11, during and after Hurricane Milton.
• Bradenton reported that 18 million gallons of treated wastewater were not dechlorinated before discharge into the Manatee River from Oct. 13 to Oct. 14.
  
  
• Bradenton reported an estimated discharge of 29.93 million gallons of raw and partially treated sewage into the Manatee River from Thursday to Tuesday. Staff reported that issues causing spills occurred while “bringing the plant fully back online” after Hurricane Milton.
  
  

Manatee County spill reports:

• Manatee County reported a spill of 5,000 gallons of raw sewage from a lift station from Sept. 4 to Sept. 5. Some of the sewage entered a stormwater drain leading to the Manatee River at the head of Warner’s Bayou, a report said.
• Manatee County reported a spill of 45,000 gallons of raw sewage after a lift station was struck by lightning on Sept. 4. Raw wastewater flowed into storm drains and “potentially impacted Sarasota Bay,” a report said.
• Manatee County reported a spill of more than 16,000 gallons of raw wastewater on Sept. 5 after a force main broke behind a home on 61st Street Northwest. Some of the spill entered a storm drain leading to Warner’s Bayou.
• Manatee County reported a spill of more than 100,000 gallons of raw sewage on Sept. 6 when a force main broke along U.S. 301 in Parrish. Some of the spill entered storm drains and potentially impacted water bodies, the county said.
• Manatee County reported a spill of over 1,000 gallons of raw sewage on Sept. 26 after Hurricane Helene flooded a lift station on Bay Drive in Bradenton, causing a power loss. Some of the spill flowed into storm drains leading to Sarasota Bay.
• Manatee County reported a discharge of more than 100,000 gallons of partially-treated wastewater from the Southwest Water Reclamation Facility on Oct. 9 when Hurricane Milton knocked out the plant’s power. Sarasota Bay and Palma Sola Bay were potentially impacted, a report said.
  
  
• From Oct. 12 to Oct. 17, Manatee County reported numerous spills of over 1,000 gallons of raw sewage from lift stations around the county due to power loses from Hurricane Milton. Some of the spills were cleaned up or contained in stormwater ponds, while others impacted Warner’s Bayou, the Manatee River and the Braden River, reports said.

This story was originally published October 21, 2024 at 5:50 AM.