Sewage Line Breaks; Residents Asked to Limit Water Usage

The City of Bradenton is asking residents to limit water usage Tuesday night following a line break at the 17th Avenue wastewater treatment plant.

That means shorter showers, turning off outside irrigation and waiting until Wednesday to run the dishwasher.

"Whatever you flush is coming at us," engineering section manager Jim McLellan said. "If you can hold it, that would be great."

City officials said they are working to repair the line following a break in the main pipeline that was reported around 11:15 a.m. Tuesday at the city's water reclamation facility, 1810 1st St. They were expecting clamps to arrive from Orlando around 5:30 p.m. to help seal the valves and said they would work through the night if needed.

Crews were still investigating the cause of the leak, which was sending gallons of sewage backflow out of the valve and flooding 17th Avenue between First and Sixth Streets West. Workers had placed piles of dirt along the street to help run the water down a nearby storm drain.

Sewage was flowing back into the Manatee River, likely near the Rossi Park area downtown, city spokesman Tim McCann said, but water quality has not been affected.

Officials were heading to the site of the leak at the river and would place "no fishing" or "no swimming" signs if necessary, McCann said.

McLellan said once the leak was fixed the city would have to provide a water quality report and other information to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.