23,000 gallons of sewage spilled in Oviedo after reclaimed water line mistakenly cut, city says

23,000 gallons of sewage spills in Oviedo

Crews are monitoring a sewage spill in Oviedo that the Mayor called preventable. This was the result of a mistake made during the construction of a $1 million project the mayor thinks was a waste of taxpayer dollars.

OVIEDO, Fla. - More than 23,000 gallons of untreated waste water was spilled when a construction crew mistakenly cut through an unmarked sewer line.

The City of Oviedo is in the middle of a $1 million construction project to extend a reclaimed water line into the city. Currently, the city sometimes brings in water from Orlando to help meet the demand. It also forced the issuance of a pollutant warning from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

And it has bubbled up disagreement over the apparent cost of the project and the expected benefits – and whether they're worth it or not, FOX 35 has learned. 

"It's raw sewage leaked into a wetland and mitigated the best we could, but it's still out there," said Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek. "So Sweetwater Creek is being monitored for pollutants, and we're just keeping an eye on all of that."

Mayor Megan posted about the environmental alert and the sewage spill, writing that it was "entirely avoidable."

FOX 35 talked with a number of nearby residents who all said they were unaware of the construction project at all, and were also unaware that there was a sewage spill. 

What we know about the project

The project is estimated to cost $977,000 and the goal is to extend the reach of the city's reclaimed water lines. For now, once completed, that water would be used to water grasses in nearby medians.

"It gets zero additional customers on reclaimed water at this time," said Mayor Sladek. "So all of the existing customers have now paid a million dollars to add no new people."

Sladek was against the project. However, three councilmembers voted to approve it, saying when new apartments are built in the future, those residents will want access to the reclaimed water.

"You’ve got to look to the future," said Councilmember Jeff Boddiford at that meeting. "It’ll cost more down the line."

The question came down to who would pay for the construction project. Mayor Sladek felt the owner of whatever future apartment complex comes in should pay for it. 

Mayor Sladek said the city may ultimately have to pay for the spill cleanup and any fines imposed by the potential damage and monitoring.

"It seems likely that there will be a fine associated with that," said Mayor Sladek. "There's an investigation ongoing on who would."

By the numbers:

Just how big of a project is this? For context, the City brings in about $24 million in property taxes each year.

So a million bucks?

"It’s not an insubstantial amount," the Mayor said.