BRADENTON, Fla. — Our recent rains have been too much for Bradenton’s Water Reclamation Plant.
Remember, the difference between a wastewater treatment facility and a reclamation plant is that water from a reclaimed plant can be reused. Millions of gallons of partially treated wastewater have poured into the Manatee River and it's still flowing right now.
Suncoast Waterkeeper executive director Dr. Abbey Tyrna says it was only told about the failure at the plant because of the city’s Clean Water Act settlement with the EPA over past failures.
“I wouldn't go into the Manatee River right now,” she says. "[Bradenton has] the money, the resources, they have the political will. Unfortunately, right now, it's just a matter of time.”
Part of the settlement caused the city to invest nearly $50 million into the facility, but it won’t be done until next year. Monday afternoon the city issued new reports saying discharges continue — all told more than 20 million gallons of wastewater dumped so far.
“That's a lot of sewage that has gone into the Manatee River and out into [Sarasota] Bay, and we're going to feel the impacts of that for years.”
Suncoast Waterkeeper confirmed fecal matter in the river by testing it in several locations including at Emerson Point Preserve at the northern end of the river and at Longboat Key in the bay; both places had bacteria levels a thousand times higher than what’s safe to swim in.
“I was not aware of it,” Manuel Mendoza, who was fishing on Coquina Beach said. “We’re going to stop coming here. Just yesterday we all came to swim in this water, the whole family.”
Beaches in Manatee County weren’t packed on Labor Day but those in the water hadn’t heard there was that much enterococci bacteria in the water, which can cause infections in open cuts and scrapes.
“I guess I have to be more careful,” Jeffrey Flores, who was swimming with his wife and two small children said. “What can you do when you don’t have the right information.”
While Suncoast Waterkeeper posts the bacteria tests on its Facebook page, the city posts incident information on its website. They are required to report discharges to the county health department and the state; the latest report was filed Monday afternoon.