Over the course of the summer months, in the aftermath of the self-induced water shortages, the city’s agreement to pass a resolution affirming several of our Association’s key assertions about the city being in violation of our Consumptive Use Permit, failing to follow through on reclamation plant plans and failing to comply with SJRWMD Central Florida Water Initiative, as well as several revelations which emerged from the ensuing investigation, including testimony that past city leaders left the city with a 300-million gallon cushion and funded projects to meet future water needs, and that Veolia, the Flint, Michigan water company had knowingly failed its contractual obligations, we have been eagerly waiting to see if the city’s repeated promises that things would be getting much better for our wastewater system would in fact be true.
So what has happened over the course of the summer and fall? Our wastewater system has continued to fall into disarray, and according to letters from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), more than 10,000 additional gallons of sewage spills have occurred. The exact dates and gallon amounts of the recent spills are as follows:
July 3: Sewage spill of 1,800 gallons
July 8: Sewage spill of 300 gallons
August 6: Sewage spill of 600 gallons