Local plumbing company asks for permit to dump human waste near Little Manatee River

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY – A local plumbing company has put in a permit request to Hillsborough County to dump up to 50,000 gallons of human waste a day on property near the Little Manatee River.

Chris’s Plumbing removes waste from septic tanks and portable bathrooms.

The permit would allow them to spread the waste on an 80 acre parcel of land, just south of State Road 674.

Mariella Smith lives along the Little Manatee River and thinks the request is a bad one.

“Human excrement and commercial waste in this river is toxic waste. It could cause fish kills, as well as human health dangers,” said Smith, as a pod of dolphin hunted for fish under her dock.

“It’s important to note, there’s other ways to do this,” said Smith.

No one from Chris’s Plumbing responded to multiple requests for comment on the permit request.

A spokesperson for the county said the permit is being considered.

“So, people fish here. They eat the fish here. My family and I, we swim here,” said Smith.

The parcel of land where the dumping may occur is along a tributary for the Little Manatee River.