Could Anna Maria Island find itself in the same situation as Longboat Key, with a sewer pipe leak in the Intracoastal Waterway?
The sole sewer line serving Longboat Key, which runs under Sarasota Bay, broke in mid-June, causing a sewage spill that collected in the mangroves on Long Bar Pointe.
A sole 20-inch sewer pipe leads from Anna Maria Island to the mainland under Sarasota Bay, part of the Intracoastal Waterway, according to Jeff Goodwin, deputy director of the Manatee County Utilities Department.
The pipe, called a “force main,” is between 40 and 70 feet deep, immediately north of the Cortez Bridge, and is made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) that was fused to create one long pipe, eliminating joints to minimize compromises in the integrity of the pipe, he said.
Installed in 2008, the force main has a life span of 70 years, but the county would replace it if routine evaluations determine that replacement is necessary before then, Goodwin said.
Manatee County, not the three island cities, is responsible for the pipe, according to the county Utilities Department Director Mike Gore.
The pipe requires minimal maintenance, but essential components are on regular preventive maintenance schedules ranging from bi-monthly to yearly, according to Goodwin. County force mains and associated valves are evaluated by staff and consulting engineers every five years to determine replacement schedules based on critical risk factors. Projects are then programmed into the utility department’s capital improvement plan, he said.
The Florida Department of Transportation plan to replace the Cortez Bridge could necessitate the replacement of the pipe, he added.
The force main could have been suspended from the Cortez Bridge, but that option could have affected the integrity of the pipe and made it difficult to maintain, according to Goodwin, adding that portions of the pipe would still have had to be underwater where the drawbridge raises.
Should a leak similar to the one that occurred in the Longboat Key pipe happen, Manatee County workers would respond to the leak as soon as it was identified, he said, procuring tanker trucks to maintain the lift stations on the Island and isolate the section of compromised pipe in order to stop the leak. Workers would then begin the repair or replacement of the pipe and possibly temporarily bypass the breached section of pipe.
The county maintains an inventory of emergency repair parts and essential equipment to expedite response times, Goodwin said, adding that staff receives requisite training on how to properly respond.
