Hurricane Matthew Takes Toll On Wastewater

Ever since Hurricane Matthew struck last month, there have been steady reports of the destruction that it has brought in its wake. For example, many spills of improperly treated wastewater have been reported by utilities during the storm.

It was mere days after Matthew hit that nearly 14 million gallons of partially treated wastewater entered the Halifax River in Dayton Beach, FL, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Caused by a malfunction at a city treatment plant, the gallons of wastewater “were among 105 related issues by Matthew that were reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection under new statewide emergency reporting rules.”

Between Vero Beach and Jacksonville, there have been at least 9 million gallons of various forms of untreated wastewater accidents reported.

A Daytona spokeswoman told the News-Journal that the wastewater “went through the entire treatment process, except for the final phase, which is the ultraviolet treatment that is the disinfectant treatment.”

In North Carolina, Matthew left behind downed trees, power outages and some road closures, according to The News & Observer. North Carolina reported that heavy rains resulted in a 14,000-gallon sanitary sewer overflow as well as a smaller sanitary sewer overflow of 1,250 gallons of untreated wastewater at the South Cary Water Reclamation Facility.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported that there were three incidents, “including two at the city's Bethune Point treatment plant that totaled 13.8 million gallons.” Officials said that tests in the Halifax River a few days later showed no elevated bacteria levels in the water.

The Jacksonville city utility reported “68 spills, including at least 8.8 million gallons and 25 cases where utility officials said they didn't know how much wastewater was spilled,” per The Florida Times-Union.

Gallons of sewage overflowed from seven local treatment facilities when losing power during Matthew, “and in three of those cases, the accidental spills went into segments of the Ortega River, Pottsburg Creek and St. Johns River.”

The biggest spill reported in Jacksonville involved nearly five million gallons of wastewater that entered the Ortega River after an electrical fault took offline a lift station. The public utility stated that “2.9 million gallons of that discharge was sewage, while the remaining 2.1 million gallons was rain and stormwater that entered through the system during the storm.”

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