ECUA Confident Water Is Cleaner
by Jeremy Morrison, Inweekly
Following the repair of a significant leak in downtown Pensacola’s wastewater infrastructure last fall, officials are betting that notable progress has been made toward cleaning up a contaminated waterfront.
According to Emerald Coast Utilities Authority Public Information Officer Nathalie Bowers, the agency is confident that the repair of a leaking wastewater line near the intersection of Spring and Garden streets had a significant impact on the water quality near Bruce Beach, where the city of Pensacola is in the midst of a multi-million dollar public improvement project.
“Yes, we do believe this was the major source of contamination of Bruce Beach, which has been addressed,” Bowers told Inweekly in an email Tuesday.
This position is in line with recent remarks by Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves, who also identified the Spring-Garden site as likely the primary source of pollution. City officials have coordinated with ECUA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection over the past year to determine how wastewater is infiltrating the stormwater system — an issue identified in an earlier study — and making its way into Pensacola Bay.
Bowers said that the last time ECUA tested water samples in proximity to Bruce Beach for contamination was on Nov. 2, shortly after the repair to the wastewater infrastructure near Spring and Garden streets. As those tests results came back clean — indicating no presence of human waste — the agency is confident that a significant source of the contamination has been stemmed.
“However, while this point source may be a significant contributor, the ECUA, city of Pensacola, and FDEP team will continue to monitor the water quality in this vicinity,” Bowers added.
Additionally, the PIO said sampling is only a snapshot in time, indicative only of current conditions.
“It is important to note,” Bowers said, “that these grab-type samples, and the respective results, are only specific for that point in time and location for which they are taken.”
The spokesperson said that the subsequent testing is planned for February and will center around the same testing sites where water drains toward Bruce Beach that were assessed in November.
Also to keep in mind,” cautioned Bowers, “is that there are other potential sources of contamination, such as private sewer service laterals, un-rehabilitated parts of the collections system, etc. that have the potential to contribute as well. This is one reason why ECUA is in the midst of a large sewer rehabilitation project in the downtown area.”
This larger sewer rehabilitation project is an ongoing effort to address the system’s aging infrastructure and, in fact, a requirement of a 2012 FDEP consent order. As ECUA Deputy Executive Director Don Palmer informed the Pensacola City Council last spring, the wastewater infrastructure in downtown Pensacola is among the oldest in the utility’s system, with terra cotta pipes dating back to the late 1800s; in the downtown and southern portion of ECUA’s system, the agency has rehabilitated about 37 percent of the infrastructure, at a cost of $28 million.
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