Lakeland will pay nearly $1 million for wastewater cleanup near Carillon Lakes

LAKELAND, Fla. — The City of Lakeland will spend nearly a million dollars to clean up a wetland contaminated by a wastewater spill.

In April, Lakeland leaders discovered a wastewater force main break happened in a remote wetland north of the Carillon Lakes neighborhood. The 12” wastewater force main primarily serves industrial businesses along County Line Road and west of the Polk Parkway.

At this time, the City does not have an exact estimate of how much wastewater has been released, but officials believe it is well over a million gallons.

Monday, Lakeland City Commissioners approved a $947,192 contract, with Bartow-based American Compliance Technologies, Inc. to cleanup soil where the sewage spill happened.

For the first phase of clean up, the company will remove the top two feet of contaminated soil from a roughly 75,000-square-foot area. That is bigger than the size of a professional football field.

“Then we are going to start sampling the groundwater. We’ve sampled the soil last week. We're waiting for the results. Depending on the results and the groundwater results, that will determine the next steps and how much more we need to do,” said David Bayhan, City of Lakeland Director of Water Utilities.

In April, Carillon Lakes residents reported a "sulfuric, natural gas-like odor" to city leaders.

Officials said they don’t believe there are any long-term health implications, but leaders are working with the Polk County Health Department and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to make sure.

“We certainly understand the concerns with the health risks associated with a spill like this. We're doing everything we can. We're taking it very seriously and making sure that we’re doing the proper sampling. We're working closely with DEP,” said Bayhan.

Officials estimate it will take 15 days to remove the soil, then another 15 days to backfill it.