'Quite a cleanup': Main break, sewage spill closes lanes on Capital Circle Northeast

A main break along a central thoroughfare in northeast Tallahassee is leading to lane closures and major repairs after an unknown amount of sewage spilled into the roadway and nearby retention ponds over the span of two hours.

Two southbound lanes on Capital Circle Northeast between Automotive Way and Mahan Drive are closed for utility repairs and will remain closed as crews continue to work overnight and through Monday.

"It looks like an asteroid hit the center of Capital Circle," said Dave Wamsley, a longtime Tallahassee resident and the original developer of the nearby Evening Rose community, while describing the work in front of the FSU Credit Union.

One southbound lane remains open and businesses can be accessed via Austin Davis Road. The city is warning drivers to "expect delays" and "use alternate routes if possible."

"Crews are hard at work on the utility repairs," the city of Tallahassee tweeted Sunday evening. "Thank you for your patience along the roadway. Please slow down and avoid distractions in the car near the work zone for your safety and the crew's."

An initial report did not specify how much "untreated wastewater" had spilled, but said that none of it was immediately recovered.

Those at the scene said one official said as much 100,000 gallons of sewage may have spilled from the main.

When reached by phone, a city underground utilities supervisor who was at the scene said we "don't have any confirmation on anything like that right now." He referred questions to the city's public relations department, which did not respond to calls or a text.

"After isolating & diverting flow, crews repaired the 10-foot-deep force main & returned flow to the pipe," the city tweeted at 9 p.m. "They are backfilling the trench, disinfecting & cleaning the area, & removing damaged asphalt to prepare for asphalt restoration in the morning."

The main break involving the T P Smith Water Reclamation Facility occurred near 1610 Capital Circle Northeast at 9:40 a.m. and crews were able to stop the overflow at approximately 11:40 a.m., according to an initial report filed with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The report noted that the city crews deployed a vacuum/pump truck, applied disinfectant and washed down the area, while raking and disposing debris. Cleanup actions will occur throughout the night, according to the report, and water samples will be taken and analyzed. Crews also placed a containment structure by the outfall of the Weems Pond stormwater management facility "to reduce potential impacts."

Wamsley said he was impressed by the city response to what he called a "big deal."

"When the city goes in to solve a problem, they will do in twelve hours what takes most humans three months," he said, noting they'll be working through the night and laying asphalt in the morning.

After the spill he visited a residential retention pond within the 33-acre Evening Rose development and said the water level was elevated, the water was cloudy and smelled like a sewage treatment plant.

"There's quite a cleanup ahead," Wamsley said.

The spill comes just days after another release of 12,000 gallons of "untreated domestic wastewater" occurred about a mile away. Mowing crews on Friday "inadvertently damaged" a valve, which triggered the spill.

"Crews responded and worked to recover and minimize impacts of the release," the initial report filed with FDEP said. About 19,030 gallons were recovered using a pump truck and disinfectant was applied.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee main break, sewage spill closes lanes on Capital Circle