'Imminent' reservoir wall collapse threatens polluted flood of Tampa Bay

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Sunday headed for the site of a defunct phosphate plant south of Tampa, where a leak at a waste water reservoir forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes and threatened to flood the area and Tampa Bay with polluted water.

Worsening of a week-old leak in the containment wall of the 480 million-gallon Piney Point waste water reservoir prompted DeSantis to declare a state of emergency over concerns over the possible collapse of stacks of phosphogypsum waste, primarily from fertilizer manufacturing, at the plant. "Structural collapse could occur at any time," Jacob Sauer, director of public safety for Florida's Manatee County, said in a briefing late on Saturday.