State of emergency announced in Florida as leak at waste water pond prompts evacuations
- Residents who live around the Piney Point reservoir received a text alert warning them to leave the area immediately because the collapse of the reservoir was ‘imminent’
- A Manatee County spokesman said the most pressing concern is that the water could flood the area, which he said was agricultural and low in population density
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday after a significant leak at a large pond of waste water threatened to flood roads and burst a system that stores polluted waters.
Officials in Florida ordered more than 300 homes to be evacuated and closed off a motorway on Saturday near the large reservoir in the Tampa Bay area north of Bradenton.
Residents who live around the Piney Point reservoir received an alert via text saying to leave the area immediately because the collapse was “imminent.” Authorities expanded the evacuation area later on Saturday to include more homes, but said they were not planning to open shelters.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says a break was detected Friday in one of the walls of a 77-acre (33-hectare) pond that has a depth of 25 feet (8 metres) and holds millions of gallons of water containing phosphorus and nitrogen from an old phosphate plant.
Officials brought in rocks and materials to plug the hole in the pond late on Friday into Saturday, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes said at a press conference on Saturday that the most pressing concern is that the water could flood the area, which he said was agricultural and low in population density.