‘Very pungent’: Carillon Lakes residents hope discovery of wastewater line break means relief from stench
LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) — Russ Delaney recorded video on his cell phone as crew members bustled around and equipment hauled 4,000 feet of pipe up Gateway Boulevard to be used in a swamp through the woods.
“I really thought it was going to be years before we’d ever find out what it was because our community is nestled right in the middle of an industrial complex, the airport, as well as warehouses,” he said.
He said beginning in February, a lingering stench became stronger and more frequent.
“We’ve had a great string of nice weather outside and we weren’t able to take advantage of it. It was just too strong,” he said. “Even when we closed the house up, the smell around here is strong right now and when we closed the house up this smell got into the house.”
Delaney lives in the Carillon Lakes subdivision in Lakeland, which has more than 600 homes and condominiums.
It did not take long for complaints to reach Devin Hunt, the president of the Carillon Lakes Property Owners’ Association.
“It was a very pungent sulfur type odor,” he said. “Immediately, the board reached out to our management company. They’ve been very diligent. They reached out to our industrial neighbors to find out what might be the source.”
Delaney and others also informed Lakeland city commissioners about the smell. This week, state and local authorities teamed up to look for the cause.
Using a drone, they were able to spot a wastewater disturbance in a nearby wetland 1,500 feet into the woods at the end of Gateway Boulevard.
“We’re pretty sure it’s a break but we have to get in there to identify what exactly is going on first,” said Kevin Cook, City of Lakeland communications director.
The wastewater line is owned by the city to serve industrial businesses.
Private contractors are laying 4,000 feet of pipe to divert the flow around the break, which is expected to be completed by Wednesday evening.
The wastewater will be collected and treated at a facility.
“A lot of things happen to cracked pipes, whether it’s root intrusion,” Cook said. “A lot of things happen. Sometimes you just have failed pipe but we have a lot of aging infrastructure in the city of Lakeland.”
The break has caused an unknown amount of spillage more than 1,000 gallons.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection said in a report Lakeland “is working with FDEP and other agencies including the Florida Department of Health on this spill and any remediation actions that will be required. Additional updates will be forthcoming.”
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