TAMPA, Fla. — Millions of gallons of wastewater spilled into a sinkhole that opened up at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay earlier this month, according to state environmental regulators.
The theme park's environmental manager reported an estimated 2.5 million gallons of wastewater discharged into the 15-by-15 sinkhole adjacent to wastewater treatment ponds, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
It happened sometime during the early morning hours of Nov. 18.
"On November 18, we reported the opening of a sinkhole under one of our retention ponds to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The opening drained the pond of water underground," Busch Gardens spokesperson Eddie Delgado said in a statement.
"Water levels are monitored 24x7 and we were alerted to the issue as water levels began to slowly drop in the morning.”