TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The rupture of a 24-inch, force main sewer pipe in Pinellas County, Florida sent more than 4 million gallons of raw sewage into a neighborhood.
People who live on 53rd Avenue North are frustrated because this is the second time in two years that the line has broken.
“It was maddening, knowing it was two years ago, almost to the day that it happened,” Barry Medlock said.
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Some of the sewage flowed into his yard and into his garage.
“Well, when I got home, you could smell it,” Medlock said. “My neighbor brought over a couple of fans, put inside my house to keep the smell down.”
Maya Burke with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program said local governments have invested heavily in infrastructure like this since 2015.
She said at that time, heavy rain from storms sent more than 100 million gallons of untreated sewage into various bodies of water.
She said improvements have been made, but more still needs to be done.