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April 5, 2021

Florida Wastewater Pond on Brink of Catastrophic Collapse
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Back in the U.S., authorities in Florida are racing to prevent the
catastrophic collapse of a 77-acre wastewater storage pond at an
abandoned phosphate mine in the Tampa Bay area. Work crews have been
pumping more than 20,000 gallons of contaminated water per minute from
the Piney Point reservoir into surrounding waterways after containment
walls began leaking. Governor Ron De Santis has ordered the evacuation
of 300 homes. Manatee County Sheriff's officials initially ordered
prisoners moved to the second floor of a jail near the pond, but later
reversed the order, saying it posed a security risk. Some models predict
a collapse could trigger a 20-foot-high wall of water. This is Manatee
County Administrator Scott Hopes.

Scott Hopes: "We're talking about the potential of about 600 million
gallons, within a matter of seconds and minutes, leaving that retention
pool and going around the surrounding area."

According to the EPA, phosphorus and nitrogen in the wastewater could
cause algal blooms that may harm humans and kill fish.


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