329,000 gallons of sewage spills in Tampa during storm; St. Petersburg has smaller spill

Heavy rain swamped Tampa's sewage collection network Monday evening, spilling about 329,000 gallons of untreated wastewater into the Hillsborough River.

Across Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg had its own, much smaller spill on the eve of a mayor's race in which the city's wastewater problems have been a central issue.

In Tampa, the bigger of two spills took place just north of the Columbus Drive bridge from an emergency overflow pipe on N Perry Avenue. There, 290,000 gallons spilled into the river from 6:45 to 11:05 p.m.

It's the same spot where 352,000 gallons spilled into the river during heavy rain dumped by Tropical Storm Colin in June 2016. (In August 2015, heavy rains likewise overwhelmed the system, popping manhole covers out of place around the city as rain surged through sewers.)