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Water-Related News

Wastewater/Stormwater Task Force

County, city and agency partners that make up the Wastewater/Stormwater Task Force will meet on Thursday, June 22, at 2 p.m. in the Digitorium of the University Partnership Center, located on the Seminole Campus of St. Petersburg College (9200 113th St. N., Seminole).

In January, the Technical Working Group—a body comprised of 17 technical representatives from utility agencies within Pinellas County—presented an action plan to the Task Force which included an analysis of the events that led to the recent overflow situation during Hurricane Hermine. Recommended approaches were provided to avoid future sanitary sewer overflows, including:
• Increasing wastewater treatment capacity at appropriate levels
• Increasing wastewater storage capacity at appropriate levels
• Reducing inflow and infiltration of stormwater and groundwater into the separate sanitary sewer system

The Technical Working Group merged these three solutions into a cohesive plan of action and will be providing updates about specific projects that have been completed and/or are underway that address the goals of the plan.

The Wastewater/Stormwater Task Force was formed last year as a joint initiative to address countywide wastewater and stormwater issues brought about by heavy rainfall events. The countywide team is comprised of leaders and staff from Pinellas County Government, 17 municipal partners and three private utility systems.

The Technical Working Group meets regularly to evaluate each utility system’s status in regards to rehabilitation and replacement projects that are underway and/or planned, collaborate on common approaches to remediate system-wide issues and discuss detailed future mitigation plans to avoid sanitary sewer overflows during extreme weather events.