Florida government DeSantis says he is trying to prevent ‘real catastrophic flood situation’ at Tampa reservoir

Manatee County’s public safety department declared a state of emergency on Saturday and ordered a full evacuation of the Piney Point reservoir site and surrounding areas due to a leak that could lead to collapse of phosphogypsum piles, radioactive waste generated during fertilizer production and phosphate rock mining.

“The water distribution system is a closed system with no way in which flood water can enter,” said Baugh. “There is also no threat to our primary source of drinking water, Lake Manatee.”

DeSantis said Manatee County public safety officials sent evacuation messages to residents and businesses in the area and assisted in the evacuation of 316 homes located in the evacuation zone at Piney Point.

Onsite engineers said a controlled release was necessary to avoid a “catastrophic failure,” the governor said. Controlled discharges that began on March 30 and continued on Sunday averaged about 35 million gallons per day, he added.

The Florida National Guard is dropping additional pumps, which will “feed into the surrounding waterways,” to help quickly lower the water level in the reservoir, DeSantis said.

Acting District Administrator Scott Hopes warned residents and asked them to “listen” to emergency management.

“ If we had a full breakthrough in minutes, we’re back to about 340 million gallons that could reach a total in the space of minutes, and the models for less than an hour are as high as a 20-foot wall of water, ”said Hope. “So if you’re in an evacuation area and you haven’t heeded it, you have to think twice and follow orders.”

Hopes also said that while they are not yet out of critical territory, the level of risk has “diminished significantly” and that they “believe we will likely be in a much better position by Tuesday.”