A “No Skin Contact” advisory is still in effect days after a force main break leaked around 3 million gallons of wastewater, some of which is said to have entered Palma Sola Bay.
Manatee County Utilities Department and the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County are each testing the waters around the bay, located between Manatee Avenue West and Cortez Road West near Anna Maria Island.
The boil water notice for residents in an area between 75th Street West and Palma Sola Boulevard from Alhambra Drive to 19th Avenue West has been lifted.
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While replacing a nearly 40-year-old cast iron force main last week near Cortez Road West and 66th Street West, crews broke the pipe, causing an estimated 3 million gallons of wastewater to be released over about 60 hours.
Trucks made an effort to divert the spill, but some is said to have gone into Palma Sola Bay.
Signs have been placed around potential impacted areas of the bay to discourage people from swimming, kayaking, paddleboarding or fishing.
Initial estimates of the spill were said to be around 1.5 million gallons, but the utilities department late last week updated the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, charged with notifying the public of pollution instances.
Hannah Morse: 941-745-7055, @mannahhorse