The threat of drenching rains over the next several days has sewer and storm water workers in St. Petersburg working ahead of time to clear storm drains throughout the city and open retention tanks to make room for all the water.
- Massive retention tank emptied to handle expected water
- Work on upgrading sewer system placed on hold
- City of Tampa also clearing storm drains
“We have 20 million gallons of reject storage that we can put water in,” said St. Petersburg water reclamation facility manager Ken Wise, “and we have a 10 million gallon F-1 storage that we keep in between five and seven feet (of water)”
At the Southwest Reclamation Facility, a massive retention tank has been emptied in order for it to handle the water collected from the anticipated rain.
This all comes while the city is in the first year of a five-year, $300 million renovation project to upgrade the city’s decaying sewer system. Work on that is being put on hold so that what’s already in place will be able to handle what nature dishes out over the next several days.
“Day before yesterday we were pumping 20 million gallons,” Wise said. “We were dry yesterday, so it backed down a little bit, so we still have 40 million (gallons) that I feel confident we can take in and treat on top of what we have right now.”
The City of Tampa is also sending out crews to clean storm drains ahead of the heavy rains. Both cities have 24-hour hotlines you can call if you see a problem with rising waters.
Tampa:
- Transportation & Storm Water Services
- 813-274-3101
St. Petersburg:
- 24-Hour Water Resource Dispatch
- 727-893-7261