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Water-Related News

5 million gallons and counting: Lakeland tallies wastewater spills caused by Milton

The massive surge of water sent sewage into at least six waterways.

From the moment Hurricane Milton’s punishing rains subsided, field crews from Lakeland’s wastewater division have been working to get pump stations back online, contain spills and tally how much sewage spilled into the city’s streets and waterways.

So far, the city has reported at least eight spills affecting Lake Somerset, Lake Parker, Lake Hollingsworth, Lake Bonny, Lake Bentley and the Lake Hunter Outfall Ditch.

The two largest spills, totaling 5 million gallons, happened at the Glendale Wastewater Reclamation Facility in southeast Lakeland, which began operating in 1926.