SARASOTA – “Islands of floating sludge some were the size of my boat all in the northern part of the bay,” said Sarasota resident, Thomas Pizzi.
Sarasota resident, Thomas Pizzi was on his boat sailing through the bay Tuesday afternoon when he noticed sludge floating in the water, a foul smell, and children swimming in the water nearby.
“Nobody on the bay, maybe one or two other passing boats, nobody seemed to be monitoring the situation at all,” said Pizzi.
Pizzi says he saw no cleanup efforts, notices or warnings posted.
In a press release, the Town of Longboat Key says they discovered the leak on June 29th and reported it to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection the same day.
According to Herald-Tribune reporter, Tim Fanning, The spill began on June 17th, however, the Town of Longboat Key did not publicly report the issue until Monday, nearly two weeks later.
The pipeline carries approximately 2 million gallons of sewage a day under Sarasota Bay to the Manatee County Wastewater Treatment Facility, Longboat Key made a public notice that the pipe was repaired late Tuesday.
“I think right now the important thing is communication with the public to let the public know about the situation, I think down the road we’ll figure out what happened, but I think right now the focus is on understanding what the potential human health risks are, what the environmental impacts are, and then focus on making sure the repairs have been completed,” said Founder and Board Member of Suncoast Waterkeeper, Justin Bloom.
Founder of the Suncoast Waterkeeper, Justin Bloom says they are doing additional water quality sampling this week in Sarasota, Bloom says ahead on the holiday weekend, the issue should be of concern
“I think people should really be aware of the situation as we learn more. Look to the Department of Health, Suncoast Waterkeeper posts, the Department of Health results, as well as our results on our website. So before you go out swimming, maybe check the conditions if you can find out information about the condition of the water before you go swimming, or boating this weekend,” said Bloom.
Out of precaution before the holiday weekend the City of Sarasota tells SNN, they have conducted water quality sampling and should have the results by tomorrow afternoon.
The Town of Longboat Key did not want to speak to SNN on camera about the issue.
