From the moment Hurricane Milton’s punishing rains subsided, field crews from Lakeland’s wastewater division have been working to get pump stations back online, contain spills and tally how much sewage spilled into the city’s streets and waterways.
So far, the city has reported at least eight spills affecting Lake Somerset, Lake Parker, Lake Hollingsworth, Lake Bonny, Lake Bentley and the Lake Hunter Outfall Ditch.
The two largest spills, totaling 5 million gallons, happened at the Glendale Wastewater Reclamation Facility in southeast Lakeland, which began operating in 1926.
Treatment plant overwhelmed
Lake Somerset — At 8 p.m. Wednesday, as Hurricane Milton was about to make landfall, the volume of wastewater rushing into Glendale’s intermediate pump station exceeded its capacity. The sewer overflowed for about 17.5 hours, spilling about 3 million gallons of waste.
“The area has been washed down and limed,” the city said in a report to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. “(But) some of this flow made it into the stormwater system that flows into Lake Somerset.”
About half an hour later, at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, an effluent line supercharged by Milton’s rains overwhelmed the secondary clarifiers at the Glendale treatment plant.
Lakeland reported that about 2 million gallons of partially treated wastewater spilled into the stormwater system that feeds Lake Somerset before the overflow finally stopped at 11 p.m. Friday.
Still assessing the impact
The city made six other preliminary reports to the FDEP:
- Lake Parker — Rising lake levels flooded portions of a gravity sewer at West Lake Parker Drive and Bella Vista Street, overwhelming the collection system. Crews worked from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Saturday to remove water and contain the spill, but the city reported that more than 1,000 gallons of sewage spilled into Lake Parker.
“Samples will be collected and the lake will be posted,” the city reported. But it added, “No cleanup actions were able to be performed at the time due to lake levels.” - Lake Hollingsworth — A manhole near Fairmount Avenue and Lake Hollingsworth Drive overflowed and discharged wastewater into a storm drain that leads to Lake Hollingsworth. The city was still investigating Monday and did not have a total yet, but it said signs would be posted at the lake and water samples would be tested for contaminants including E. coli and fecal coliform bacteria.
- Lake Bonny — A pump station at 1106 Bartow Road near the Bonny Apartments appeared to be discharging wastewater into Lake Bonny on Thursday morning. The city has not yet reported how much wastewater spilled, but it said it would post caution signs and test water samples.
- Lake Bentley — A manhole near John Arthur Way and Lake Bentley Court overflowed and discharged wastewater into a storm drain that leads to Lake Bentley. The city has not yet reported how much wastewater spilled, but it said it would post caution signs and test water samples. “Once the investigation is finalized, we will update the Pollution Notice,” the report said.
- Lake Hunter Outfall Ditch — The city reported two incidents near Lake Hunter. A pump station at 1501 Ariana St. near the Georgetowne Mobile Home Park lost power and discharged wastewater into the ditch until city crews hooked up a generator. And waste bubbled up through a manhole near Unitah Avenue and Lake Hunter Drive, spilling an unknown amount of waste into the ditch. “The discharge ended once the pump station caught up with the flow,” the city reported.
Tania McMillan, the city’s wastewater compliance manager, said totals weren’t available yet on Monday.
“The city is still in recovery mode and our field crews have been working around the clock to manage wastewater flows,” McMillan wrote in an email. “Although we do not have estimated volumes to provide at this time, a full report will be available once loads get to a manageable level and we can better assess the impacts.”
Aging infrastructure
Lakeland often has sewage spills after exceptionally heavy rains. The city reported that more than 30,000 gallons of untreated wastewater spilled after Hurricane Debby in August.
However, Lakeland is working to upgrade its system. The city is poised to spend about $74 million to upgrade its Western Trunk Line, which is nearly 80 years old.
The City Commission recently discussed increasing the water and wastewater impact fees it charges to developers. It also recently voted to increase water and wastewater fees by about $3.44 per month for the average residential customer.
