Crews rushing to contain a leak of residual water from a lake in the Tampa Bay area detected a second potential breach on Monday, while evacuation orders remain in effect, officials said.
The development comes after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned on Sunday of a “catastrophic flood situation” if the water body at Piney Point, an old phosphate mine, collapsed. Manatee County officials said at one point that an ongoing breach there has the potential to spur a 6-meter-high water wall – but on Monday afternoon, about 300 million gallons remained and the threat of a total breach could be contained within 48 hours while teams drain the lake.
“At approximately 2 am, an infrared drone identified a signature that could indicate a second violation,” said Manatee County Public Security Director Jacob Saur. “However … the Army Corps of Engineers, new engineers from the [Florida] The Department of Environmental Protection is back on the scene now and is reevaluating that. ”
This photo shows a reservoir near the old Piney Point phosphate mine on Saturday in Bradenton, Florida. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency on Saturday after a significant leak in a large wastewater lake threatened to flood roads and disrupt a system that stores polluted water. (AP / The Bradenton Herald)
((Tiffany Tompkins / The Bradenton Herald via AP))
FLORIDA WORKS TO AVOID THE COLLAPSE OF ‘CATASTROPHIC’ PONDS
Saur added that the rate at which water is flowing out of the lagoon has not changed since Sunday night.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says the pond water is mostly salty mixed with wastewater and rainwater. It has high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and is acidic, but it is not expected to be toxic, says the agency.
The crews that responded to the site are pumping about 35 million gallons of water out of the lagoon every day to Port Manatee.
On Monday night, after additional pumps are brought online, that rate will “more than double” to about 75 million to 100 million gallons of water per day, according to Manatee County administrator Scott Hopes.
Authorities closed parts of Highway 41 in the United States and ordered the evacuation of 316 homes while the operation was underway. Some families have been accommodated in local hotels.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Crews have been unloading water since the tank began to leak in March. On Friday, a significant leak that was detected escalated the response and led to the first evacuations and the declaration of a state of emergency on Saturday. A portion of the reservoir’s retaining wall has changed, leading authorities to think that a collapse could occur at any time.
Earlier on Sunday, authorities saw an increase in water leakage, but Hopes says he appears to have stabilized. The water that is running out on its own is going to Piney Point Creek and Cockroach Bay, an aquatic reserve in Tampa Bay, just north of the facility.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.