Heavy rains from Debby inundated wastewater systems across Tampa Bay area

TAMPA, Fla. - The heavy rains from Debby inundated wastewater systems across the Tampa Bay area. The rain caused hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater to overflow, and water quality warnings were posted across the region.

The City of Tampa’s Wastewater Department said the city had 10 spills, totaling 343,000 gallons of wastewater.

"Most of it went into Hillsborough Bay," Eric Weiss, Tampa's wastewater director, said.

READ: Laurel Meadows residents continue questioning why they flooded as waters begin receding

Weiss said the city didn’t lose power to any of its 230 pumping stations, which typically happens in other storms. But, he said the relentless rain caused the overflows.

"It was just a volume of water," Weiss said. "It was just 36 hours of 10+ inches of rain, and it just inundated when it got into the wastewater pipes."

In Sarasota County, which was one of the hardest hit areas, county officials said nearly a million gallons of water spilled this week. They said the spillage was a combination of wastewater and treated reclaimed water.

County officials said there are almost 800 lift stations in the county, and many flooded over.

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"About nine of them had malfunctions," Sarasota County Director of Public Utilities Brooke Bailey said. "Most of them were inundated with the flow. We had a couple of power things. We got generators out there. We also had some manholes lifted, and so that inundated our system."

Bailey said Bee Ridge Water Restoration Facility was contained and didn’t overflow into nearby neighborhoods.

"Bee Ridge usually sees about eight million gallons a day," she said. "During the event, we saw 25 million gallons a day. So, if you can imagine, that’s twice to three times. Central county saw the same type of flow. Double the amount of flows as typical, and same with Venice."

Bailey said Bee Ridge is back down to 10 to 12 million gallons. She said they’re continuing to do water treatment procedures around the county.

READ: Morris Bridge Road reopens as waters from Hillsborough River recede

Sarasota County officials said there were also several issues with manholes being opened, which can cause major filtration issues. They urge people not to open manholes in order to drain their own properties.

In Tampa, Weiss said they’ve been monitoring water quality levels, and continue to test the water.

"Forty percent of those samples have already come back below normal levels," he said. "So, we pulled the signs. The other 60%, we really expect that today, the rest of those will pass."

Wastewater infrastructure projects are underway across the region, in an effort to keep up with the fast-growing region.

MORE: Pinellas County ER doctor uses paddleboard to commute to work during Debby

"This facility right now is rated for 12 million gallons a day," Bailey said. "We are re-rating that with the AWT to 18. Venice Gardens, we’re doing the same. So we are increasing our infrastructure for residents coming."

In Tampa, the city said its 20-year wastewater rehabilitation project has put $1.4 billion towards improving the city’s wastewater infrastructure.

"We’ve rehabilitated over 200 miles of wastewater pipes just in this first five years, and that’ll continue through the next 15," Weiss said.

Wastewater agencies around the region continue to monitor water quality levels.

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