Sunday, March 6, 2011

Landfill Mess in HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY is Possibly Leaking into Our Aquifer and Affecting Tampa's Drinking Water

The latest news I can find and recent correspondence from a constituent:

***The utility company just sent this in their newsletter.
I hadn't heard a word about it.

If the liner is punctured, contaminates from the dump could leak into the Florida Aquifer where some people get their drinking water. Authorities said on Wednesday, it is too early to tell.

"We don't know at this time if there has been a breach in the bottom liner," said Patricia Berry with Solid Waste Management.

OR

(This story was dated 3 months ago)
Experts watching sinkhole in Hillsborough landfill
STORY HERE:
Lithia, Florida -- A sinkhole that opened up under a Bay area landfill has county authorities on edge.
In the nearly 30 year history of Hillsborough County's Southeast County Landfill in Lithia, a sinkhole has never formed.
But that is exactly what authorities believe caused the ground to give in on Tuesday afternoon.
Workers discovered the initial depression on Tuesday. At that time, it was only five feet deep. Within 24 hours, it dropped 45 feet.
Now, the sinkhole is 75 feet wide and 50 feet deep and still growing.
Landfill supervisor, Larry Ruiz had been surveying the initial depression when the ground gave way, sinking more than 40 feet of waste into the earth.
"The cracks you see around the perimeter, they started getting wider and as they got wider, right in the middle, it just started going down and a lot of smoke came out of the middle," said Ruiz who says he immediately ran away from the hole.
When he had a moment to think, Ruiz says his first thought was about the landfill's liner. "I was worried about any damage to the liner system."
(See if there is a sinkhole in your neighborhood)
If the liner is punctured, contaminates from the dump could leak into the Florida Aquifer where some people get their drinking water. Authorities said on Wednesday, it is too early to tell.
"We don't know at this time if there has been a breach in the bottom liner," said Patricia Berry with Solid Waste Management.
Berry says management acted quickly on water quality controls.
"We do have a system of groundwater monitoring wells as part of our operation of this facility. We have analysis on those wells and we will be stepping up our monitoring program," said Berry.
As solid waste workers scramble to save the situation, cracks are widening around the already huge hole.
The DEP is supposed to survey the scene on Thursday. That agency along with SWFMUD will help county authorities execute an action plan.
Solid Waste Management says this has no impact on trash removal.
The Southeast County Landfill is located on 3,300 acres at 15960 County Road 672 in Lithia. The sinkhole is in an area of the original landfill that opened in 1984.
The area contains a mix of municipal solid waste and ash from the County's Resource Recovery Facility.
Erica Pitzi, 10 News Reporter

***************
I, Anita have the following questions:
Why is the local government permitted to supervise and conduct the testing?
Why are independent entities not doing the testing?
Just what are the damages?
Shouldn't citizens of Hillsborough be provided with the labs and the analysis conducted from these labs?
There are severe water problems all over the county, are all of these issues related? Why or why not?

 ARE THERE ANY INDEPENDENT CHEMISTS OUT THERE WHO WOULD CARE TO ASSIST ME IN TAKING SAMPLES THROUGHOUT TAMPA SO WE CAN ASSURE THE SAFETY OF OUR DRINKING WATER?

Please email me at anitasoilandwater@gmail.com or call 813.527.1293 and be sure to leave a message if I do not answer.

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