Gov. Ron DeSantis Declares State of Emergency After Leak at Piney Point Reservoir Threatens Roads
By Fox News // April 4, 2021
ABOVE VIDEO: Manatee County commissioners declare local state of emergency due to Piney Point.
MANATEE COUNTY, FLORIDA (FOX NEWS) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday after a significant leak at a large pond of wastewater threatened to flood roads and burst a system that stores polluted waters.
Officials in Florida ordered more than 300 homes to be evacuated and closed off a highway Saturday near the large reservoir in the Tampa Bay area north of Bradenton.
Residents who live around the Piney Point reservoir received an alert via text saying to leave the area immediately because the collapse was “imminent.”
Authorities expanded the evacuation area later Saturday to include more homes, but said they were not planning to open shelters.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says a break was detected Friday in one of the walls of a 77-acre (33-hectare) pond that has a depth of 25 feet (8 meters) and holds millions of gallons of water containing phosphorus and nitrogen from an old phosphate plant.
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