Hurricane Helene wrecked sewage systems all over Tampa Bay

Tampa dumped 8.5 million gallons of sewage. In St. Petersburg, feces seeped up from floors in homes.

All over Tampa Bay, sewage systems were overwhelmed by a historic amount of storm surge from a hurricane 100 miles offshore.

Summary:

• St. Petersburg: The city reported six public spills: Five from the northeast plant, one from the southwest plant, totaling 407,495 gallons of untreated wastewater. That figure doesn’t include how many gallons were spilled specifically from the northeast plant. Two spokespersons for St. Petersburg did not respond to requests for comment.
   
• Tampa spokesperson Kathlyn Fitzpatrick said each overflow happened along the Hillsborough River and the south Tampa coastline. She said signs were placed in all areas where overflows happened to advise residents not to fish or swim in the area. That water is tested and analyzed until water levels have returned to normal, and then signage is removed. She said all pumping stations were repaired by Friday afternoon.
   
• Flooding in the Apollo Beach and Ruskin communities caused damage to wastewater pumping systems in south Hillsborough County. Backup generators limited the damage that would have been caused by loss of power, but some pumps were damaged due to electrical shortages. “There was 5 to 6 feet of standing water on top of our sewer system,” said Lisa Rhea, director of water resources for Hillsborough County. “Electricity and water don’t mix.”
   
• Pinellas County on Friday turned off drinking water service to all island customers from John’s Pass south to Fort De Soto Park to make repairs to that water system. Residents specifically in St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island and Tierra Verde are urged to use bottled water or boil tap water for cooking, drinking and personal hygiene.
   
• Clearwater had four sewage spills, according to the city’s director of public utilities, Rich Gardner. Two were about 1,000 gallons each, a mixture of sewage and storm surge, were discharged into the bay. One had 9,600 gallons, though all but 50 of those gallons were cleaned up with the small remainder seeped into the ground. He said those spills were related to power outages and storm surge.
   
• The city of Largo reported one spill of 225,000 gallons of untreated sewage. A report to the state said Duke Energy turned power off to the wrong pump while servicing a transformer that sparked during the hurricane. The pump lost power for five minutes, and since tank levels were already high, the pump station overflowed onto a paved surface at the treatment plant and entered into a stormwater pond. It’s possible wastewater made its way to the Cross Bayou Canal.
   
• Gulfport had one discharge of 86,700 gallons of untreated sewage. The report said controllers to lift station pumps failed due to storm surge, causing the collection system to overflow and spill out of a manhole. The city applied lime, washed down the area and raked and disposed debris.

By law, Sanitary Sewer Overflows must be reported to Florida's State Watch Office. Information about those occurring during the last 30 days is plotted on this interactive map.