ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Petersburg city officials announced they are turning the power back on at the Northeast Sewer Treatment Facility after midnight Saturday after taking precautions from Hurricane Helene's storm surge.
In a press conference on Facebook, Mayor Ken Welch confirmed the services would be returning.
This means draining water, taking showers, doing laundry and flushing toilets will be safe to do again.
"I want to thank the team members at the plant for their around-the-clock work to actively restore it to full operation," Welch said during the news conference. "They do not have an easy job and I thank them for their efforts."
The shutdown impacted residents and businesses north of 30th Avenue N and east of I-275/Haines Road, city leaders said. This was reportedly the only facility affected by storm surge.
City leaders initially estimated Thursday evening that it would take 48 hours to resume plant operations after it was turned off.