Florida’s Manatee County is in a state of emergency because a toxic wastewater reservoir is on the verge of collapse.
Hundreds of families were forced to evacuate on Saturday after authorities warned that the Piney Point Reservoir, some 40 miles south of Tampa, could flood homes with 5 to 6 meters of water to collapse.
Governor Ron DeSantis said at a news conference on Sunday that the teams are working to avoid “a real catastrophic flood situation”.
The reservoir contains a mixture of salt water, fresh water and fertilizer runoff. DeSantis clarified on Sunday that the water is not radioactive, after there is a concern that it may be.
A portion of the reservoir retaining wall has changed laterally, meaning that complete structural collapse is possible, public safety officials in Manatee County said. If that happened, potentially 600 million gallons of water could leave the holding tank in a matter of minutes, they said.
A natural gas plant that supplies power to millions in the region is also in the flood zone, causing additional concern.
The teams are now working to get the water out of the reservoir as quickly as possible, but that could take more than a week.
The governor said that the authorities are preparing for a total violation, but hope that this will not happen.
