CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) – The sewage spill at a lift station just off McMullen Booth Road in Clearwater is small compared to recent spills in St. Petersburg. But it’s enough to receive attention.
“150,000 gallons? Well, I hope they get it fixed very, very quickly,” Clearwater resident Charlie Weis said.
The spill occurred when a pipe under a concrete slab ruptured, letting loose a torrent of raw sewage into nearby Alligator Creek. It gushed for nine hours until crews shut off a pump.
“What’s different about this time around is the governor has determined that all spills, it appears, are going to be ‘noticed’ the way this one was. In the past, a spill of this size, we would have (given) everyone (notices) anyway,” Clearwater Public Utilities Director David Porter said.
Responding to the Mosaic sinkhole and St. Petersburg’s sewage spill, Gov. Rick Scott issued an emergency rule, requiring pollution incidents by reported within 24 hours.
Near the Clearwater spill, at the Harvard Arms Town Homes, Weis likes that idea. “I think that’s an excellent rule, really. Otherwise, the public will never, they may momentarily smell something but not know who to talk to,” he said.
But another neighbor doesn’t think Scott’s emergency rule goes far enough. “It would work if it did its job. But, unfortunately, it’s not (because) we didn’t get notified,” Dennis Slevin said.
Clearwater crews have posted signs warning about the polluted water in the creek. They also put letters on adjacent doors, cautioning neighbors about pets.
The neighbor closest to the spill said she’ll keep her dogs in the front yard or on a leash.
The city’s utilities director insists the new rule will not mean much of a change for Clearwater. “We did nothing different that we would’ve normally done,” Porter said.
