Almost 900K gallons of sewage leaks into Indian River Lagoon

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — A wastewater leak dumped 870,000 gallons of sewage into the Indian River Lagoon on Monday in less than three hours, the city of Titusville said.

The city released a statement Monday saying crews noticed a leak behind one of its lift stations on Indian River Avenue.

The leak was a result of old equipment that became active and ruptured 40 years after it was replaced, the city said.

Crews shut down and properly closed off the old equipment less than three hours after they discovered the leak, the city said.

The city said the lagoon is not used as a source for drinking water.

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The area was cleaned and disinfected, the city said. The city has not issued any warning about water usage.

The incident was reported to the Florida State Department of Environmental Protection.

Resident Sue Idtensohn, who lives near the ruptured line, said she recorded video of the leak.

"From what the city has told me, they have money this coming year to revamp this station and to put in better technology to make sure this doesn't happen again," she said.

It's unknown if that $1.5 million in proposed upgrades and new backup generators for Titusville water resources could have prevented the situation.

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Duane De Freese, of the Indian River Lagoon Council, said a larger concern of his is the malfunctioning septic tanks along the lagoon that release nutrients into the water on a daily basis.

"With the lagoon as fragile as it is, every extra pound of nutrients matters," he said. "Will we see a bloom erupt because of this discharge? No."

Brevard County has dealt with its own sewage discharges into the lagoon to avoid backup into homes.

The county said it has completed lining more than 80,000 linear feet of sewer main to reduce inflow and infiltration issues in the south beaches, Barefoot Bay and Merritt Island. The South Patrick Drive force main has also been replaced.

"Every county -- and the cities along the lagoon -- are all beginning to move forward with projects," De Freese said. "The challenge is there's a lot of work ahead."

Read: $12 million on fast track to protect Indian River Lagoon after Hurricane Irma

He said there are numerous projects underway in the five counties along the lagoon, and it will take time to see improvement.

This was not the first environmental issue for the lagoon.

Earlier this year, a sewer-forced main break near Satellite Beach caused about 375,000 gallons of raw sewage to spill into a canal system that flows into the lagoon.

In 2017, millions of gallons of raw sewage were discharged into the waterway after Hurricane Irma, exposing serious problems for the Brevard County Utilities department.

In 2016 and again in 2018, algae bloom in the nearby Banana River killed much of the wildlife.

Cox Media Group