ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — In what St. Petersburg city leaders said was a tough decision, they discharged one million gallons of wastewater on Sept. 27 to prevent severe damage to the plant.
Some residents said the wastewater ended up in their homes, adding to the flooding from Hurricane Helene’s storm surge.
A video from one woman, who asked to remain anonymous, showed her shower where she stored items thinking they would be safe from her home that was being flooded. That is until the shower started running on its own, filling her bathroom floor with wastewater. She said it ran for three hours straight.
Susan Doty doesn’t live far from where this video was taken. Doty said the same thing happened to her.
“Well I did have the water come up in my toilet and my shower but I secured it as fast as I could,” Doty said. “I just knew I didn’t want that through my house. My poor sister must have done 40 loads of laundry for me, with bleach.”
The city said the discharge came from the Northeast Reclamation Facility. The plant had to be taken offline during the hurricane to prevent the plant and its equipment from severe damage.