LYNN HAVEN Fla. (WMBB) — More than one million gallons of raw sewage was released into Lynn Haven Bayou and Anderson Bayou due to Hurricane Sally’s flooding.
This sewage spill into the bayous brings along health concerns due to bacteria.
This sewage came up from man-holes and flowed into both these bayous.
Craig Kidwell with the city of Lynn Haven Public Utilities said, for now, do not go swimming in this water, but they will continue to sample the water.
“The area that bay county gets their water from is actually on the other side of deer point dam so there is no way that that could cross-contaminate with this event,” said Kidwell. “It would take a major major storm for any of that to be affected.”
Kidwell said it is not just the bayous that are affected, but also street flooding.
Joe Scully, Bay County Health Department environmental supervisor. He advises even if you are cleaning your house due to flooding inside, make sure to clean your clothes and hands often and do not let your children or pets play in the water.
“So if they ingest the water, the lower side effects could be something like food poisoning, gastrointestinal distress, diarrhea, or vomiting,” said Scully. “If you have open cuts or wounds they could become infected. So those are the types of things to look for.”
Scully said there is no saying how long this advisory will be in effect, but the city will continue to sample the bayous.
