NEWS

Titusville break leaks 14,000 gallons of sewage into Indian River Lagoon

Jim Waymer
FLORIDA TODAY

A broken sewer pipe released 14,000 gallons of raw sewage on Tuesday into a storm water system that flows to the Indian River Lagoon.

The sewer line break happened for unknown reasons at around 11 a.m. on Tuesday at 505 Indian River Ave., just north of Titusville City Hall, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The sewage release was stopped by 3 p.m. the same day.

This week's spill adds to several sewage spills into the lagoon or its tributaries in recent months. Earlier this month, Melbourne was fined almost $4,000 for a Nov. 15 incident in which a contractor accidentally broke a sewage pipe, spilling 400,000 gallons of raw sewage into the Eau Gallie River.

It was uncertain Friday whether state environmental officials would impose further corrective actions.

DEP assesses sewage spills on a case-by-case basis when determining whether to fine a utility or require other actions. The state agency considers how serious the violation was; was it a first-time violator or a chronic offender; was the sewage release inadvertent or beyond the utility's "reasonable control," Ashley Gardner, DEP spokeswoman, said via email. DEP also considers whether "any damage to the environment be undone or remediated quickly," Gardner said.

"In this case, it was determined that the spill was caused by a split in the line that was out of the facility’s control, and they repaired it in a timely manner with minimal impact to the environment," Gardner said. "The department is waiting on a few final pieces of information in order to complete its review of the incident and ensure that no further corrective actions will be needed."

Contact Waymer at 321-242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @JWayEnviro

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