Crews Race to Drain Florida Wastewater Reservoir; Pollution Concerns Grow
Voice of America
Emergency crews labored around the clock Monday to prevent the collapse of a wastewater reservoir's leaky containment wall near Tampa Bay, Florida, making steady progress after officials warned of an imminent threat of flooding over the weekend.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked with local public safety teams to drain the Piney Point reservoir, which has a capacity of about 480 million gallons, in a bid to prevent a major breach that could unleash a cascade of wastewater into the surrounding area, officials said. While the pumping operation appeared to diminish the immediate threat to hundreds of homes near Piney Point, a former phosphate plant, the wastewater drainage was being discharged to a nearby Gulf Coast seaport, posing environmental concerns there. The crisis began over the weekend when a worsening week-old leak in the containment wall prompted authorities to order the evacuation of more than 300 dwellings, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declaring a local state of emergency Saturday.More Related News
People gather on a bridge where a woman's body was retrieved after floodwater washed away houses and people in Kamuchiri village, Nakuru county, Kenya, on April 30, 2024. At least 48 people were killed in the incident. A man sits on a tree trunk in flooded Kamuchiri village, Kenya, on April 30, 2024. Kenya has been overwhelmed by flooding that killed 66 people on Monday alone and in recent days has blocked a national highway, swamped the main airport and swept a bus off a bridge.