“Florida has hundreds of private and public sewers. They are vital for protecting human health. They can be an asset or a villain in the struggle to heal sickly rivers and coastal waters. Sewage challenges will amplify with population growth and as rising sea levels drown sewers of coastal cities. Gravity is the king of wastewater delivery. But in flat Central Florida, sewage often must also be pumped, or lifted, by lift stations. While Station 3 is capable, with four, 88-horsepower pumps, it is not immune to what happens hundreds of times a year in Central Florida alone: spilling sewage.
This summer, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill to raise fines for spills as a “deterrent against bad actors.” But Jerry Phillips, Florida director of PEER, a national alliance of environmental professionals, said cities have little to fear.”
