Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Quality topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City says Billy Creek and Manuals Branch meet consent‑order goals; no human markers found in recent samples
Summary
City environmental staff told council the 2021 FDEP consent order’s pollutant-reduction work has shown Billy Creek trending below the FDEP 410 CFU threshold and Manuals Branch has had two consecutive non‑detect human‑indicator samples, prompting staff and DEP to move toward closing obligations; the city will continue sampling and applied for dredging grant funding.
Justin Mahon, the city’s environmental compliance manager, briefed council on monitoring and progress under the 2021 consent order with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). He said the city’s pollutant‑reduction plan uses E. coli as the freshwater indicator and that the sampling program, performed by consultant GHD and an independent lab, tracks sample points in Billy Creek and Manuals Branch. "In 2021, we entered the consent order with FDEP following a large sanitary sewer overflow and SSO into Manuel's branch," Mahon said, describing the monitoring program and thresholds used to decide follow‑up.
Mahon walked council through trend graphs and said Billy Creek sample locations are generally below the FDEP 410 colony‑forming‑units action threshold. He said the city has not detected human genetic markers in Billy Creek: "since the start of the sampling in 2021, the city has not once recorded a detection of human factor 1 83," meaning the tests have not shown human DNA at the sample points cited. Manuals Branch has shown elevated E. coli at some points historically but Mahon reported a downward trend and said two recent consecutive sampling events produced non‑detect human indicators; he noted the city and FDEP conducted mirrored sampling in October and the coordinated results supported moving to close related consent‑order obligations.
Mahon emphasized that the city will continue routine sampling and source tracing as required by the pollutant‑reduction plan. He also outlined likely non‑human contributors (birds, pet waste, trash and natural, soil‑associated E. coli) and said the city has installed pet‑waste stations, launched a trash‑reduction campaign and applied for a Clean Waterways Act grant to dredge and restore flow in Manuals Branch.
