The leak of fully treated water happened after a worker hit a pipe with a backhoe, St. Petersburg city officials said.

ST. PETERSBURG – About 30,000 gallons of fully treated, reclaimed-quality water leaked from a broken line at the Southwest Water Reclamation Facility this morning (May 1), St. Petersburg officials said.

The leak came from an 8-inch service line that was broken by a contractor’s backhoe during construction at the sewer plant, 3800 54th Ave. S.

The unauthorized discharge – through a 2-inch hole that was discovered immediately after the construction crew hit the line – lasted about 25 minutes, from about 8:40 a.m. to 9:05 a.m. It is estimated that 29,375 gallons of the fully treated  reclaimed-quality water was discharged.

Water resources staff and construction workers on site built a temporary earthen berm along 54th Avenue S that prevented about 90 percent of the water from leaving the plant property. The water was directed to flow down plant drains for re-treatment, officials said. Some was also conveyed to a storm pond on property, but the rate of flow was not enough to have any flow out of that storm pond.

About 10 percent of what spilled did go to a nearby storm drain along 54th Avenue S that leads to an open drainage ditch near Boca Ciega Bay. Environmental Compliance Division staff will take samples from the drainage ditch and nearby waters to determine any potential impact. Results from that testing will be posted on the Recreational Water Quality page at stpete.org.

Photo showing berm containing the water courtesy of the city of St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg | Sewage | Spill | Tampabay News

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