BRADENTON – At a time when red tide levels recently increased in Anna Maria Island waters and a Bradenton man recently lost his leg to flesh eating bacteria (vibrio vulnificus) after wade fishing in Sarasota Bay, the city of Bradenton discharged an estimated 825,000 gallons of partially treated or raw wastewater and/or sewage into the Manatee River in November.
The city of Bradenton also discharged more than 2,000 gallons of raw wastewater into Wares Creek.
Past events
In August, during and after Tropical Storm Debby, the city of Bradenton’s water reclamation facility discharged an estimated 25 million gallons of partially treated or raw sewage into the Manatee River. The neighboring city of Sarasota discharged an estimated 18 million gallons of partially treated or raw sewage into Sarasota Bay. Combined, the Bradenton and Sarasota water reclamation facilities discharged an estimated 43 million gallons of partially treated or raw sewage into local waterways.
Recent events
According to the Wastewater Digest website, the headworks of a wastewater treatment plant is the initial stage of a complex process. According to the noncompliance report posted at the city of Bradenton website, on Nov. 6, the emergency stop button or switch was hit at the headworks at the water treatment facility (WTF) at 17th Avenue West triggering an alarm in the supervisory control and data acquisition system. The alarm was acknowledged but not investigated. When the evening operator did the plant check, it was found the headworks was overflowing. The overflow occurred for about 15 minutes. The operator reset the panel and everything started working. The area affected was a grassy area at the headworks and the roadway at 17th Avenue West, including the storm drain. According to the report, at least 6,000 gallons of wastewater were discharged into the Manatee River via the storm drain.
On Nov. 17, there was a period of high chlorine demand due to a backwash and the operator on duty reacted incorrectly, resulting in the residual chlorine falling below the limit in contact chamber #2. The effluent (wastewater) was not fully disinfected during that time. The incoming operator noticed it and corrected the issue by putting the bleach back into the automated system. The total estimated volume of partially treated wastewater discharged into the Manatee River at the water reclamation facility outfall was 297,000 gallons.
On Nov. 21, there was again a period of high chlorine demand due to a backwash and the operator on duty again reacted incorrectly, resulting in the residual chlorine falling below the limit in contact chamber #2. The effluent was not fully disinfected during that time. The incoming operator noticed it and corrected the issue by putting the bleach back into the automated system. The estimated volume of partially treated wastewater discharged into the Manatee River at the water reclamation facility outfall was 525,000 gallons.
“This was an operator error in their response to the high chlorine demand. The WRF (water reclamation facility) acting superintendent/chief operator created a troubleshooting SOP (standard operating procedure) for these types of instances. The city has contracted with Jacobs Engineering to provide on-the-job training to all operators. This will help in ensuring that all operators have similar base knowledge,” according to the noncompliance report.
On Nov. 24, Lift Station #7, near Eighth Avenue West, had a variable frequency drive and radio malfunction due to the uninterruptible power system faulting which caused the lift station to stop functioning but did not trigger an alarm. There are three manholes at the crossing of Eighth Avenue West and 17th Street West and citizens called to report the manholes were overflowing. The estimated volume of raw wastewater that spilled into Wares Creek was 2,000 gallons.
The noncompliance information posted at the city of Bradenton website is also posted at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Pollution Notice webpage, along with other pollution-related incidents reported statewide.
Related coverage: 43 million gallons of sewage discharged during Debby
