Lifestyle

Port Richey neighbors fed up with ongoing sewage spills


A gem of Port Richey, the Cotee River, is being dirtied by what neighbors name a shame — human waste spilling into the road and reaching the river.

Captain Bob Hubbard, the proprietor of Island Paradise Charters, despatched the I-Staff a video the place he describes uncooked sewage flowing out of manholes outdoors of his waterfront dwelling and into the river, to point out what occurs when a tough rain hits.

“Talked to metropolis officers, they don’t even wish to hearken to you,” Hubbard mentioned within the video. “It must be fastened in some way as a result of that is completely disgusting.”

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WFTS

Captain Bob Hubbard explains the continuing sewage situation in Port Richey to I-Staff Investigative Reporter Kylie McGivern

Hubbard mentioned he’s complained to town for years about the issue plaguing paradise, the place he calls dwelling.

“It’s one thing all of us right here must take care of, and the neighbors come down they usually name town on a regular basis,” Hubbard mentioned.

The proprietor of Sunset Landing Marina in Port Richey, Kristin Tonkin, shared an e-mail with the I-Staff dated October 2019, the place she contacted town saying she shared Hubbard’s issues about sewage flowing into the river and hooked up one other video of the problem.

“Oh, it’s so dangerous at instances that — you simply barely maintain your nostril. It stinks. It smells like an outhouse,” one of many marina staff instructed the I-Staff. “No matter the issue is, we have to attempt to get a deal with on it or do one thing about it as a result of it’s simply hurting everyone.”

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Bob Hubbard

Bob Hubbard describes uncooked sewage flowing out of manholes outdoors of his waterfront dwelling and into the river. He reveals what occurs when there’s numerous rain.

“I’ve referred to as a number of instances, I don’t get a response,” mentioned John Hainlin, who lives throughout the road from Hubbard on Grand Boulevard.

He’s lived there for the previous 20 years.

“I can say in the previous few years, each time it rains laborious or if it’s been a few days of rain, the manhole cowl simply flows up six inches, typically I’ve seen it pumping out 10 inches, it goes proper right here into the storm drain, proper out to the river,” Hainlin mentioned. “Yeah, it’s an actual *expletive* storm right here in Port Richey. Actually.”

“My concern is, environmental. Folks getting sick. And after I go on the market on a kayak and go up and down the river, is the water contaminated? In order that’s my large situation,” mentioned Mike Sheetz, one other neighbor.

The sewage, Hubbard mentioned, doesn’t cease at his doorstep.

“I’ve a sunken bathtub. If I don’t plug it, it will get uncooked sewage in my home,” Hubbard mentioned, offering an image of the mess. “I didn’t transfer right here to reside subsequent to a cesspool. It’s a fantastic neighborhood, it’s a fantastic river, however it’s getting contaminated and to be sincere with you, there’s completely no motive for it. There’s no excuse for this.”

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Bob Hubbard

Port Richey resident Bob Hubbard says uncooked sewage will come inside his bathtub in his dwelling when there’s numerous rain

The I-Staff introduced the neighborhood’s issues to Port Richey City Manager John Dudte, and confirmed him Hubbard’s video.

When requested what he thought, Dudte mentioned he shared Hubbard’s concern.

“That’s a problem that we have to tackle,” he mentioned.

Dudte took over as metropolis supervisor in January, bringing recent eyes to the Florida neighborhood and Cotee River.

“That basically is the gem of this space,” Dudte mentioned of the river. “That’s form of the calling card for our small neighborhood.”

Dudte beforehand served as town administrator of Chapman, Kansas. He instructed the I-Staff the problem of sewage overflows, “was one in every of a number of priorities I used to be given after I bought right here.”

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WFTS

Port Richey Metropolis Supervisor John Dudte

Dudte mentioned it’s a problem Port Richey shares with neighbors in New Port Richey and Pasco County.

“Within the occasion you get six inches of rain in a single hour, it’s all we will do to maintain up,” he mentioned. “Methods that now we have, you understand, it’s simple to say they’re antiquated, and that appears like a cast-off. That’s the actuality in some locations.”

Town supervisor mentioned town is within the technique of growing a capital enchancment plan.

“That’s going to have a big amount of cash to deal with previous infrastructure. Infrastructure wears out, similar to anything does. And when a elevate station will get to 30 or 40 years previous, it’s time to restore and change. So I’m comfortable to say the council has seen that as a precedence, they’ve appropriated cash, we’re engaged on a long-term plan to form of prioritize what elevate station must be fastened proper now and Chapel is on that record,” Dudte mentioned.

Chapel refers back to the elevate station impacting Hubbard and his neighbors. The station triggers a warning to town when the sewage degree begins to rise and, as Hubbard has seen at instances, spill over.

“It’s a very severe scenario and the state views it as such,” Dudte mentioned. “If there’s a spill, that will get documented, it will get handled and it will get reported to the state.”

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The I-Staff reviewed state data and located, since 2017, Port Richey has reported 14 spills to the Division of Environmental Safety.

All through 2020, Florida PEER (Public Staff for Environmental Duty) monitored those emergency alerts of sewage overflows throughout the state.

The reviews are supposed to incorporate the variety of gallons spilled and cleaned up and if it impacted any physique of water, as PEER identified in its report, launched in September. However that doesn’t at all times occur.

The nonprofit discovered, simply 12 counties, together with Hillsborough, Pinellas and Sarasota, there have been 856 notifications to the state final yr. That accounted for greater than 126 million gallons spilled. Most of it, almost 110 million, based on state reviews, made it into the water.

Port Richey’s metropolis supervisor mentioned it’s an issue shared by communities throughout Florida.

“To the extent by which we reply to and mitigate sewage issues, that’s on us and we work laborious to attenuate that,” Dudte mentioned.

Port Richey just lately purchased a brand new half-million-dollar vacuum truck to assist pump sewage from town’s ageing elevate stations.

“That’s a giant buy for a small city like this, that’s some huge cash to take care of this situation particularly,” Dudte mentioned. “Clear water and soiled water is a excessive precedence for the Metropolis of Port Richey.”

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WFTS

Port Richey just lately purchased a brand new half-million-dollar vacuum truck to assist pump sewage from town’s ageing elevate stations.

Hubbard mentioned they will’t preserve ready.

“There’s numerous dolphins in right here, manatees swim up right here by my dock on a regular basis, birds, pelicans, they eat fish out of right here, ospreys, so it impacts every little thing. All of the residents, wildlife, everyone will get affected by it,” he mentioned. “It’s been uncared for, and we’re pissed off and we’re bored with it.”

Town supervisor instructed the I-Staff Port Richey will start seeing adjustments within the subsequent six months to a yr, as they work to finalize the capital enchancment plan and begin upgrading elevate stations.





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