54,000 Gallons of Sewage Discharged in Sarasota, Florida

SARASOTA, Fla. — Environmental officials acted swiftly Thursday to address a 54,000-gallon sewage spill in a Sarasota neighborhood.

Sarasota County Public Utilities received a report around 8:30 a.m. of the spill occurring on Vivienda Way in The Meadows. Officials arrived on the scene within 10 minutes, promptly diverting the flow from the compromised air release valve by shutting down multiple lift stations.

A spokesperson for public utilities reported that the flow was halted within three hours—but not before 54,000 gallons of sewage had spilled.

Crews utilized a vacuum truck to recover approximately 2,500 gallons of the spilled wastewater. Unfortunately, most of the sewage was absorbed into the ground or flowed into an undeveloped area.

“The land where some of the wastewater was absorbed was treated with lime to disinfect surfaces and control pathogens through an alkaline environment that inhibits many bacteria and some viruses,” stated the public utilities spokesperson. “Lime also helps to deodorize and control odors.”

Although officials are uncertain about the exact circumstances, they suspect the valve was impacted by a lawn mower or a golf cart. Given the presence of concrete bollards around the valve, they believe the object must have been “something hard.”

In addition to the valve cover and existing concrete bollards, Sarasota County Public Utilities plans to install a 4-inch metal-piped bollard in the area to prevent future incidents.

Utilities officials noted that the spill might have been less severe if it had been reported immediately. They urge the public to contact them at 941-861-6790 if they observe any damage to infrastructure.