Residents in Clearwater have been hit with a series of wastewater troubles at the Marshall Street Water Reclamation Facility, with heavy rains overwhelming the system and resulting in significant overflows into Stevenson Creek. As per the City of Clearwater, the first spillover took place between August 27 and 28, releasing an estimated 3.16 million gallons of partiallytreated waste water and the second occurrence on August 29 saw 444,500 gallons bypass the final treatment process due to sand filter issues.
Further upsets included an on-site spill of approximately 3,000 gallons of wastewater on August 29, which was contained and is being recovered. These incidents have necessitated the shut down of reclaimed water feed from the facility, although Northeast Water Reclamation Facility operations continue unaffected, all stemming from the ground being unable to absorb any more water, leading to rapid and unsustainable flows to the treatment plant.
The Clearwater Public Utilities' notification on the matter emphasized immediate actions taken, including the use of vactor trucks to manage the overflows and the requisite notifications to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The preliminary cost to address the damages and preventive measures is yet to be determined and will likely involve extensive microbial sampling and labor costs for the additional crew efforts.
Yet another exceedance occurred on August 22 and 23, where the facility reported an 11.15 million gallon overflow incident into the same creek. "The city made the required notifications to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)," as mentioned in the City of Clearwater's report. Clearwater residents might still notice lower-than-average water pressure, though service remains intact despite recent events, with further updates including sampling results to be expected once the city concludes its inspection and analysis of the overflows' full impact on Stevenson Creek and the immediate environment.
