Crappy Problem
South Devillers Street had 900 gallons of raw sewage overflow on Monday due to the heavy rainstorm early Monday morning.
ECUA Notice sent 3:58 pm yesterday: “A Sanitary Sewer Overflow -SSO- occurred on June 16, 2023, at a manhole located at the intersection of Devilliers and Zarragossa Streets due to excess stormwater caused by heavy rainfall, which overloaded the sanitary sewer collection system. The overflow was estimated at 900 gallons. The overflow was contained on-site and bacteriological sampling was not required.
ECUA crews cleaned the overflow area with a biocide agent that abated any contamination concerns, per State protocol. In accordance with standard operating procedure, the ECUA notified the State Warning Point, the Escambia County Health Department, and the FDEP.
Why this matters: The sewage overflow happens nearly every time there is a heavy rain. Gloria Horning wrote Mayor D.C. Reeves and city officials:
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- “One business is now leaving, renters lost their cars at the yellow house and had a foot of water in the rental.”
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Dig Deeper: Horning believes the flooding is due to infill in her neighborhood:
“Our community has faced more than 12 inches of rain before and our buildings did not flood. This flooding is a direct impact from the fill and build allowed on a flood plain.
“Adams Homes’ permit for stormwater containment ONLY includes swells on their property. Not French drains pouring water off the site onto the gravel yard (BTW the gravel road isn’t up to code by NPDES. A report is being filled now.)
“Last night there was just 1.2 inches of rain and water filled my backyard putting stormwater in my back room.”
Rental and Utility Assistance
Renters in the City of Pensacola with overdue rent and/or utility payments may be eligible for assistance through the city’s Community Development Block Grant-Coronavirus Funds.
Applications are now available on the City of Pensacola website until all funds have been committed. Click here to access the application directly. Approximately $100,000 will be made available to assist eligible renters within the city limits impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with overdue or back rent and/or utility payments.
Dig Deeper:
Eligible expenses must occur between March 1, 2020 to date. Maximum assistance will be up to $7,500 per household and will be paid directly to the property owner or landlord and/or utility company.
General eligibility requirements:
- Must be a renter within the City of Pensacola limits (address lookup tool available here)
- Must have income adversely impacted by COVID-19
- Total household income cannot exceed 80% of Area Median Income (AMI)
- Program is for rent and/or utility assistance ONLY
School Grades
The Florida Department of Education usually releases the school grades this time of year. However, they won’t be posted until this fall or winter, leaving parents with no recent data for school choices.
FDOE: “Due to the transition from FSA to BEST, School Grades, District Grades and ESSA Federal Percent of Points Index baseline information will be released in the Fall/Winter.”
The law: Pursuant to section 1002.333(1)(c), Florida Statutes, a “persistently low-performing school” means a school that has earned three grades lower than a “C,” pursuant to s. 1008.34, in at least 3 of the previous 5 years that the school received a grade and has not earned a grade of “B” or higher in the most recent 2 school years.
These are Escambia County’s low-performing schools as of last summer:
| 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | ||
| ENSLEY ELEMENTARY | D | C | D | D | D | D | |
| MONTCLAIR ELEMENTARY | D | B | C | D | F | F | |
| OAKCREST ELEMENTARY | D | C | D | C | F | D | |
| SHERWOOD ELEMENTARY | D | C | D | C | D | D | |
| WARRINGTON ELEMENTARY | C | D | D | F | F | C | |
| HOLM ELEMENTARY | C | D | D | D | D | D | |
| GLOBAL LEARNING ACADEMY | D | C | D | D | D | C | |
| BELLVIEW MIDDLE | D | C | D | C | D | D | |
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D | D | D | D | D | D | |
| PINE FOREST HIGH SCHOOL | D | C | C | D | D | C |
These are the same school as those under former Superintendent Malcolm Thomas, except Thomas had C.A. Weis on his list and Pine Forest was added under Superintendent Tim Smith. Score 10-10
Smith had to deal with a pandemic. Thomas did not and was the superintendent from November 2009- November 2020.
