State legislature proposes prioritizing Florida’s aging infrastructure after flooding from storms
Improving Florida's wastewater systems
FOX 13’s Kailey Tracy reports on a bill proposed in the Florida House of Representatives looking to prioritize updating Florida’s aging infrastructure after Hurricane Milton flooded cities like St. Petersburg with millions of gallons of wastewater.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - State Representative Lindsay Cross (D-St. Petersburg) says sewage spills are too common in Florida, so she has filed a bill to prioritize updating infrastructure.
FILE: Wastewater treatment facility.
During and after Hurricane Milton, about 5.9 million gallons of wastewater spilled in St. Pete.
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An environmental scientist, Cross, filed House Bill 861, the Advanced Wastewater Treatment bill, last week.
Dig deeper:
Cross says the bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection to work with the water management districts and sewage disposal facilities to provide lawmakers with a list of wastewater plants in the state, their locations, and other detailed information.
"We don't have a single source of information that includes really what I think are the most important things," Cross said. "Like, how old are these wastewater plants? Have they had spills? Are there impairments, meaning that there are concerns about the water quality and the water bodies that they just discharged to? Has that impacted the local ecosystems?"
FILE: Wastewater treatment facility.
Cross said it would help lawmakers understand where the biggest needs are so they can prioritize upgrades.
"We know that sewage spills are happening all too frequently all around our state, and as legislators, we don't always have all of the information needed to make the best decisions about where our taxpayer dollars should go in terms of supporting some of these local projects," Cross said. "So, this is an effort to provide us with more data-driven ways to prioritize infrastructure funding and hopefully clean up our water all across Tampa."
The backstory:
Hurricane Milton’s storm surge forced St. Pete leaders to temporarily turn off power to two sewer treatment plants, leaving tens of thousands of people to stop taking showers, doing laundry, or flushing toilets.
"Those were proactive measures, but if we had the ability to elevate the electricity and the power to these plants, we might not have to disrupt service to tens of thousands of residents and businesses," Cross said.
Flooding from Hurricane Milton in Pinellas County.
Some facilities and pipes around Florida are more than 100 years old, Cross said, and were built with outdated materials that can break.
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"A lot of communities have had spills. The magnitude of them varies across the state, but they've become all too common," Cross said. "So, I think all of our local governments are looking at ways to upgrade this old infrastructure. It's just part of regular maintenance. It's not the fun and sexy part of government."
"We don't want to be dumping raw sewage into our beautiful, pristine water bodies, affecting human health, and impacting our economic viability," Cross said.
What's next:
Cross also proposed a version of the bill last session, which, if signed into law, takes effect on July 1st.
The Source: FOX 13's Kailey Tracy collected the information in this story.
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