Drone Captures Wastewater Leak at Piney Point Reservoir in Florida

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said crews were working to prevent the collapse of a large wastewater pond to avoid a "catastrophic flood."

Manatee County officials said the latest models show that a breach at the old phosphate plant reservoir in the Tampa Bay area could gush out 340 million gallons of water in a matter of minutes, risking a 20-feet high wall of water.

The leak at the reservoir, first discovered last month, is situated next to an abandoned phosphate plant.

Emergency crews are removing millions of gallons of water from the reservoir each day to reduce pressure on its liner and avoid a potentially catastrophic flood of the surrounding area. In the link below, you can download several views of the facilities and the wastewater holding ponds before the break and some close up comparisons of the area including today's imagery that shows the leak.

Engineers and dam safety specialists evaluating the danger of a catastrophic flood from a leaking Florida wastewater reservoir determined that the threat of a possible second breach was "unsubstantiated," the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said.

Officials said Monday that a drone discovered a possible second breach in the reservoir, whose east wall continues to show "concentrated seepage."

But by Monday evening, experts from four government agencies and outside engineers concluded that this second site was safe to continue work on, the agency announced.

Meanwhile, the agency said dozens of pumps and 10 vacuum trucks have been deployed to remove 35 million gallons (132 million liters) of wastewater per day into the Tampa Bay estuary, where 11 different sampling operations are monitoring water quality and considering ways of minimizing algae blooms that kill marine life and make beachgoing hazardous to humans in the tourism-dependent state.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world.

To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app.

Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake

Connect with us on…

Breaking News on YouTube