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'It’s just such a breach of trust for us' | Piney Point families concerned about possible reservoir collapse

Melissa Fitzsimmon and her family live on the border of the evacuation zone. She fears what will happen if a 20-foot wave of nutrient-rich water crashes down.

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Melissa Fitzsimmons and her family live on the border of the latest evacuation zone for Piney Point. But she is not leaving things up to chance.

“So for us we are prepared. We have gotten things out of the house that needed to be," said Fitzsimmons. “Thankfully we have family that live a couple miles down the road. So we kind of brought everything there that we needed to. And then are just preparing, I guess, for the worst. Which is, like I said, crazy.”

The worst—a 15 to 20-foot wave of water if the breach creates a collapse.

“It’s not just a 15 to 20-foot wave of normal water, we can prepare for in a hurricane, its 15 to 20 feet of water that we have no idea what’s inside. So that’s the scarier part for me. Beyond the flooding, just the ramifications. The unknowns, what’s in there. How long it has been there," said Fitzsimmons.

State and local leaders are saying that the water is primarily a mix of processed water and stormwater runoff with high amounts of nutrients like phosphorous and nitrogen. It shouldn’t be toxic, but will likely be harmful to the surrounding environment.

“There is going to be damage somewhere and the big incentive to live out here are the preserves and how close we are to the water," said Fitzsimmons.

Another concern, her home is served by well water. “I definitely won’t be confident going in the water, I am not going to be confident with my water at home."

At this point, the Manatee Department of Emergency Management is saying that well water in this area is safe to drink. They are however monitoring the situation, and if things change bottled water should be made available.

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