Dan Peterson: Aging and neglected sewer pipes are polluting environment

Here’s a shocking truth. Over the past decade, 23,000 sewage spills have occurred in Florida. As a result, 1.6 billion gallons of wastewater have been released to the environment (either into waterways or onto land) due the failure of aging sewer pipes, lift stations and wastewater treatment plants.

More than 370 million gallons of that number were completely untreated. It’s just one of Florida’s obvious environmental problems demanding attention.

Just ask the residents of Fort Lauderdale. During the 16 days prior to Christmas, three major sewer pipe failures poured an un-calculated amount of raw sewage, probably millions of gallons, into streets and water bodies. An emergency bypass stopped the leakage into the Rio Vista River, but arresting the sewage leaking into the Himmarshee Canal took longer.

Even when aging sewer systems do not catastrophically fail, they still leak or exfiltrate. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates 10-17% of raw sewage leaks directly into the environment and groundwater from aging sewer pipes.

In Florida, 1.5 billion gallons of wastewater are treated EVERY DAY. That’s 534 billion gallons of wastewater each year. Just 10% of that results in 53.4 billion gallons of raw sewage annually entering the environment and groundwater.

And, that isn’t all. Aging sewer pipes infiltrate. When rains are heavy, stormwater infiltrates and overloads sewer pipes, overwhelming lift stations and treatment plant capacities.

Municipal plants have no choice but to dump untreated or partially treated sewage into the environment or risk catastrophic damage to the facility. Infiltration is responsible for spewing additional tens of millions of gallons of sewage onto the ground and into streets and waterways.

Failures, exfiltration and infiltration all demand attention as hazardous to health and the environment. Our ground and surface waters are being polluted right before us. And, it doesn’t require a “Blue-Green Algae” Task Force to recognize that age and neglect are polluting our water and environment.

The Coalition for Property Rights look for solutions and recently visited the city of Brooksville, which is renovating its sewer pipe system. Using processes such as smoke detection to identify leaks, video observation to prioritize the worst leaks, and a process called Cured-In-Place-Pipe, their pipes and manholes are being re-lined from within.

It prevents exfiltration and infiltration, not to mention preventing failure. This rehabilitation project also eases the stress on the wastewater treatment plant during heavy rain events. Estimated cost of the project: $8,545,841.

The Florida Keys has taken dramatic action. After a disastrous experimentation with so-called “advanced” or nitrogen-reducing septic systems, Monroe County has been upgrading their wastewater treatment plants to Advance Wastewater Treatment plants (AWTs).

These AWTs remove bacteria and 97 percent or more of nutrients. Treated effluent is then put into injection wells 3,200 feet below the surface. Estimated capital cost to connect residents and businesses to AWTs is $1 billion.

Two-thirds of Florida residences and businesses are serviced by sewer systems. Additionally, more than 100 million visitors use our sewer systems each year. And, in light of a projected 6 million new residents coming to Florida over the next few years, rehabilitation and capacity upgrades of our sewer systems cry out for action.

Florida has spent billions on Everglades restoration. Additional millions are spent on the acquisition of conservation lands. But if wastewater never makes it to a treatment plant due to failing pipes, and if treatment plants put nutrient-rich effluent right back into our waters and environment, or the plants lack capacity during rain events and power outages, what difference will it make?

Florida needs to fix this growing problem looming right in front of our noses. And the residents of Fort Lauderdale are reminded of it with every breath they take.

Dan Peterson is president of the Coalition for Property Rights—FL.