Crews rush to stop Florida wastewater reservoir collapse

Wastewater reservoir’s containment wall risks break, but crews are making steady progress to stop threat of flooding.

Crews were working around the clock on 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 worsening leak in the containment wall at Piney Point wastewater reservoir, which holds 480 million gallons, prompted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency on Saturday over concerns that stacks of phosphogypsum waste, primarily from fertiliser manufacturing, could collapse at the plant and cause dangerous flooding. “What we are looking at now is trying to prevent and respond to, if need be, a real catastrophic flood situation,” DeSantis said at a Sunday press conference after flying over the old Piney Point phosphate mine.