City agrees to improvements in wastewater settlement

BRADENTON – Four environmental advocacy groups announced on Thursday that a settlement has been reached in a Clean Water Act lawsuit filed against the City of Bradenton related to repeated sewage spills into the Manatee River and local waterways. Suncoast Waterkeeper, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, Manasota-88, and Our Children’s Earth Foundation had filed the lawsuit in 2021.

Over the past five years, the city illegally bypassed at least 160 million gallons of wastewater away from full treatment before discharging it into the Manatee River. Similarly, during that time, the city discharged millions more gallons of reclaimed and raw sewage from its aging sewage system, which is plagued by structural deficiencies.

The settlement sets firm deadlines for improvements to the city’s sewage treatment plant, including increasing pumping and treatment capacity and upgrading disinfection capabilities. The city will also have to address issues in the collection system, including assessing the condition of pipes, finding leaks, and ensuring the availability of backup power. Additionally, the city will update its capacity, management, operation, and maintenance programs for its sewage collection system.