Lakeland officials have received an estimate of how much it will cost to clean up the source of the stench in Southwest Lakeland.
City commissioners unanimously approved spending $947,192 Monday for Bartow-based ACT Environmental and Infrastructure to remove contaminated soil from a sewage main break in an undeveloped area north of the Carillon Lakes neighborhood.
ACT anticipates it will need to excavate and remove about 7,840 tons of dirt to clean up the city’s sewage spill, according to its June 21 estimate.
“This is unexpected and we certainly didn’t have this budgeted for…” said Commissioner Stephanie Madden. “We wouldn’t know about it if it weren’t for our neighbors Carillon Lakes.”
In early April, several Carillon Lakes residents contacted city officials reporting a “sulfuric, natural gas-like odor” wafting through the community at various times. Some reported smelling it as early as October 2023, becoming more consistent through March.
Repeated complaints prompted the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to send drones to the area to conduct an aerial search. The drones found a possible main force break on a piece of vacant land owned by the city, which was confirmed by the Lakeland Wastewater Management Division on April 23.
The city found a 12-inch main used primarily to serve the city’s industrial customers burst near Gateway Boulevard and Whitten Road. The city initially estimated that more than 1,000 gallons of untreated sewage had been released into the wetlands, according to a Public Notice of Pollution filed with the FDEP. “FDEP is looking into a sewage cleanup effort,” City Manager Shawn Sherrouse said Monday morning. “The city has been working with FDEP on the cleanup and a sampling plan.”
ACT has an ongoing contract with the city to provide professional environmental, environmental risk and engineering services. So the city turned to the company for a cost estimate to remove non-hazardous oil-contaminated soil and septic waste near the fracture site.
The company estimated it would have to remove the top two feet of soil from an area of roughly 75,000 square feet — that’s roughly 1.72 acres. It is larger than the size of a professional football field.
ACT said its costs would cover the excavation, transport and proper disposal of the contaminated soil. His report goes on to say that “an unknown volume of septic flow” was released. The Bartow Company will then fill the area with topsoil to level the soil and compact it.
Sherrouse said it is “imperative” that this work begins as soon as possible as Florida’s rainy season is getting underway and heavy rain or flooding in wetlands could further delay or complicate environmental cleanup.
ACT has promised to use hydrated lime in an effort to help control odors in the area while the environmental cleanup is underway. He estimates it will take 15 working days to fully excavate the area, then another 15 days to fill it.
Sherrouse said the city has been in email contact with the Carillon Lakes Homeowners Association, in addition to several individual residents, as efforts to remedy the situation continue.
Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.
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