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County Seeks Answers On Sewer Line Breaks

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Published: October 14, 2008

Water department officials say they don't know what's causing newly laid sewer pipe to keep breaking in the Town 'N Country area but promise they are going to find out.

"We don't know why, but you can bet some heads are going to be put together this morning to try to figure it out," Michelle Van Dyke, spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Water Resources Department, said Monday.

The weekend breaks were in the same section of pipe that broke Sept. 12. The pipe was installed in June and is under warranty, Van Dyke said. She said the department is going to conduct an investigation that will look at materials, design and workmanship.

The leaks occurred twice Sunday in the 20-inch pipe along Comanche Avenue just east of Hanley Road. The break dumped 300,000 gallons of raw sewage into a creek.

About 4 a.m. Sunday, water department operators found an 18-foot-long section of pipe split "end to end," Van Dyke said. While they were replacing that section, they noticed sewage pooling around a seal connecting a pipe and valve about 100 yards from the original break. The repair required another 18-foot section of pipe to be replaced, Van Dyke said.

Residents along the creek are urged to avoid contact with the creek and the area where it flows into Tampa Bay for several days.

Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303.

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