Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

Broken pipe spilled 342,000 gallons of sewage near Florida water park

tampabay.com · 18h · first reportShare

A broken pipe at a wastewater facility next to the Aquatica water park spilled nearly 350,000 gallons of sewage into the open earlier this month. Orange County mayoral candidate Chris Messina on Thursday held a news conference at the site and blasted the county for its response, saying it lacked transparency given the potential impact to public health and the environment. “I would think that in an administration that’s committed to transparency and publicity that they would be here week and a half ago telling you, ‘Hey, there’s been a break here,’” Messina said. “Is the process to not inform the press and the public and the adjoining businesses? We have a major tourist attraction right here.” County spokespersons said 342,000 gallons of sewage were spilled on two separate incidents on Sept. 6 and Sept. 10 at the wastewater facility, which is directly adjacent to Aquatica’s parking lot. The area is near the proposed location of a major league baseball stadium for the as-yet-unfulfilled