EPC briefed on sewage overflows: private lift stations and storm impacts drive complaints; municipalities take steps

Daniel (Dan) Moore, Environmental Protection Commission staff, told commissioners on Feb. 20 that EPC has investigated more than 570 complaints about sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) since January 2020, roughly 360 of which involved privately owned lift stations.

"In this presentation I will discuss sanitary sewer overflows, also commonly called SSOs, that occur from sewage collection and transmission systems, with a focus on pump stations and private lift stations," Moore said, and he outlined the county's response, enforcement options and recurring failure modes.

Moore described the scale of regional sewer infrastructure and the regulatory framework. He said greater than 5,000 miles of sewer lines, more than 2,500 municipal pump stations and more than 3,000 privately owned lift stations exist in the service areas of Hillsborough County, City of Tampa, City of Temple Terrace and Plant City. He cited chapter 62‑604 of the Florida Administrative Code, which sets construction and reporting requirements for domestic wastewater systems; EPC implements that rule under delegation for the jurisdictions listed.

Private lift stations — facilities that move wastewater from lower to higher elevation using wet wells, pumps, floats and control panels — are a frequent source of overflows. Moore said field responses include inspecting whether pumps or electrical systems have failed, tracing flows to impacted surface waters, collecting laboratory samples when needed, educating property owners about reporting and repair requirements, and escalating to enforcement for noncompliance. EPC created a lift station maintenance brochure to help owners recognize and respond to failures; municipal partners have requested copies for field distribution.

Moore gave several recent examples. In Temple Terrace, staff found a lift station overflowing to the Hillsborough River; dye tracing showed rapid movement from the wet well down vegetated bank to the river, and the case became an enforcement matter before the owner installed a backup generator and telemetry. In Brandon, EPC found a private station near a retention pond that had been inoperable since Hurricane Milton; contractors later removed about 200,000 gallons of collected sewage and the owner is pursuing permanent repairs. Moore said many failing lift stations are in low‑lying, vegetated areas out of sight behind commercial buildings or in apartment complexes.

Storms last year increased the workload. Moore said Hurricanes Debbie, Helene and Milton produced a mix of high groundwater, storm surge and record rainfall that left pumps submerged, disabled telemetry and caused prolonged power outages. The cross‑town master pump station (Cross Street) was among facilities that reported large volumes; municipal reports from storm events included spills the agencies tracked in aggregate at multi‑million‑gallon scales. Moore said city and county staff have used public advisories and sampling to warn and inform the public in affected areas.

Municipalities and partners are taking steps. Moore said the City of Tampa secured capital improvements for mission‑critical wastewater infrastructure, Hillsborough County Public Utilities has a replacement/restoration program and a new POTS (Privately Owned Collection and Transmission Systems) oversight effort, and state rule changes now require power‑outage contingency plans for newly permitted systems. Moore said EPC coordinates closely with these teams and sometimes pursues enforcement when private systems cause environmental impacts.

Commissioner Cameron Cepeda complimented the presentation; Moore responded that EPC handles both inspection and citizen complaint response and works to educate owners and coordinate repairs.

Votes at a glance: the meeting earlier approved the consent agenda by motion and second and a voice vote; no opposers were announced during the roll call for that item.