A sewage spill gave neighbors around Footprint Lake a smelly weekend, but it's expected that the waste will be broken down naturally.
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published July 17, 2003
PORT RICHEY - A lift station malfunction over the weekend sent about 4,000 gallons of raw sewage into Footprint Lake, a 12-acre pond in the Timber Oaks subdivision north of Jasmine Boulevard.
The spill created a stench for neighbors around the lake, but county officials said it posed no environmental hazard. No one swims in the lake, and ultimately the waste will break down as part of the lake's "natural biological activity," said Doug Yowell, the utilities operations and maintenance manager for the county.
"Since it was a relatively small spill compared to the volume of the lake, I don't believe there's a contamination issue for that lake," Yowell said Wednesday.
The problem started about 10 a.m. Sunday, when a lightning strike knocked out the power to the county's lift station near Ponderosa Avenue and Encino Court, Yowell said.
Without electricity, the lift station could not pump the sewage to the county's wastewater treatment plant. Instead, the sewage accumulated at the lift station until it overflowed, Yowell said.
"It basically comes up and spills over the top as if you're overfilling a glass of water," he said.
The sewage ran down a small canal and into Footprint Lake.
"The water got so cloudy, so polluted, you couldn't see anything anymore in the water," said Maria Zirngibl, whose house abuts the lake.
The county notified the state Department of Environmental Protection of the spill, and county crews vacuumed the waste collected in the canal, Yowell said. The lift station was up and running later Sunday, after power was restored and an electrical component was replaced, he said.
The county had one concern: As the waste breaks down in the lake, it uses up some of the oxygen used by fish and other aquatic life. So the county placed an aerator in the lake, near the canal, to add oxygen to the water, Yowell said.
The mess lingered for a few days but seemed to clear up Wednesday.
"The smell is gone," Zirngibl said. "Whatever they did, they must have corrected it."
- Bridget Hall Grumet can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bhall@sptimes.com
