Florida, Land Of Shit: Sewage Spills Growing Worse As Infrastructure Fails In Low-Tax Paradise

[hatrack]

Florida has recently experienced several large sewage spills and the issue is expected to worsen in the state due to its growing population, urban development, the climate crisis and ageing infrastructure that frequently cause existing wastewater systems to fail. For example, between December 2019 to February 2020, more than 230m gallons of sewage spilled into waterways in Fort Lauderdale, the result of ageing water infrastructure.

State officials called the spills the worst on record in state history, as for years Fort Lauderdale diverted funds for needed sewage repairs and maintenance to other city budget needs. The city faces a $2.1m fine from the state for the series of spills. “A lot of the issues in south Florida with sewage spills has to do with the infrastructure getting very old, much of it is beyond its planned life, usually around 50 years, so there are a lot of cracks in the sewage pipes,” said Dr Rachel Silverstein, a marine biologist and executive director of Miami Waterkeeper. Silverstein explained sea level rise in south Florida raises water tables underground, which frequently covers sewage pipes, infiltrates cracks and can overwhelm the system, resulting in pipe bursts. The pollution from these spills is already having long-lasting impacts on south Florida’s environment.

Sewage spills are a common problem facing communities in Florida. Between 2015 and March 2020, there were 13,984 reported sewage spills in the state, according to data obtained from the Florida department of environmental protection (FDEP). The FDEP confirmed the statistics obtained from the data. During this period a staggering 1,658,165,304 gallons of sewage were spilled in Florida, after initial recovery efforts were completed.

In 2020, several large sewage spills have occurred around Florida, in addition to the record spills in Fort Lauderdale. In May, 1.8m gallons spilled in Miami-Dade due to heavy rain and clogged items disrupting flow in the area’s wastewater treatment plant. In March, FDEP data shows a sewage spill of over 20 million gallons occurred in Miami-Dade county. Nearly 26m gallons of untreated sewage was discovered spilling into Sarasota Bay in July. More than 1.2m gallons spilled in the same bay in Bradenton in June. In August, an unknown amount of sewage spilled on the streets of Fort Lauderdale due to a pipe break.

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/10/florida-sewage-spill-waterways-infrastructure

[SWBTATTReg]

1. And what did FL expect? Paradise to many, but ironically, a lot of people in paradise ...

who either live in or visit paradise don't want to pay for it (retirees, lots of minimum wage workers who can't afford it, snowbirds who race north when the summers roll around, etc.). You get what you pay for. I used to go to FL 20-30 times a year (Miami, Key West, etc.) but no more. It's too expensive now, and too crowded.

[riversedge]

2. and Florida will have have lots more shi* next Jan 20!!--#trump will arrive in his new FLorida home

[rso]

3. Florida

And it’s not even “low tax”, property taxes are very high. To say nothing of homeowner’s insurance, probably the highest in the Nation.

[mitch96]

5. Depends on where you go.. The south east coast? yes. Very expensive.. Other places not so much

We get a lot of revenue from tourists...... This virus is gonna hurt the florida state income. Lets see what happens.. Florida has a homestead exemption for residents. $25,000 to $50,000 off the estimate on your home value. That helps also. My taxes are less than friends in the north east for the same size home... YMMV
m

[rso]

7. Florida

We are in Palm Beach County, on the SE Coast, it’s very expensive. On the plus side, it’s a majority blue County.

[mitch96]

12. I recently moved from SE Florida to west central fla.. My expenses were just about cut by half..

Plus with the crazy real estate market down thereI made a killing on my house.. So far I'm liking it over here. YMMV
shhhhh don't tell any body..
m

[zipplewrath]

6. Where?

I live in Orlando and my costs are very low. And I live in one of the more expensive neighborhoods. Our property taxes are relatively fixed a bit like Prop 21 in California. If you don't live within about 5 miles of the coast, you can get reasonable insurance, the state insures the expensive houses on the coast line. Basically, I live in a community in which the cost of living is driven extensively by people making low to minimum wage. As such, if you have an above average income, it is a very economical place to live. I have an engneer's salary in a hotel maid economy.

If you live in south Florida within sight of the ocean, or some other water front/access property, yes it can be very expensive. Otherwise, you'll quickly find yourself in premanufactured hell.

[Grins]

4. This is a tax story

“Fort Lauderdale diverted funds for needed sewage repairs and maintenance to other city budget needs.”

Because they didn’t want to raise TAXES TO PAY FOR IT.

“Snowmageddon” hit Maryland years ago. County nearby got ravaged because response was so bad. Media people show at government offices and want to know why.

County official admitted it was bad and that they KNEW it would be bad but “When we were planning for this two years ago we floated a bond issue to pay for it, and the voters voted it down! We didn’t have the money!”

Republicans have made the word “taxes” an epithet.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

8. Too many people haven't a clue what their taxes actually

get for them. They have simplistic thinking that all taxes are bad, especially income taxes, and make uninformed decision, especially about where to retire to, based solely on that.

A few weeks ago there was an article in my local paper about people leaving California because of the very high cost of living there, which admittedly is not merely a tax issue. There was a brief profile of a couple who apparently did a certain amount of research and relocated to Texas. They have an adult son who is severely handicapped. Turns out, Texas essentially has none of the services for their son that California had.

It's things like that. People focusing on just one thing and not looking at the big picture.

Every time I look at one of those articles "Best Places to Live" or "Best Places to Retire to" I am astonished. They are almost always sunbelt cities, and in many of them you'll be paying for a/c nine months of the year. For the most part, any place that gets even chilly weather in the winter is apparently too brutally cold. Low taxes are hugely important. Rarely is any consideration given to things like a good cultural life, museums, theaters, local college or university. Personally, if I ever relocate it will be to a city with good public transportation. Along with the cultural stuff.

[Finishline42]

9. Texas, Florida, Tenn and Nevada

Get a lot of attention due not having a state income tax. But you have to pay for stuff somehow.

And if you have getting higher than normal influx then the infrastructure is going to be overloaded. How do you pay for what's needed?

[hatrack]

10. Reminds me of Molly Ivins' description of Texas . . .

"Mississippi with good roads".

[Blue Owl]

11. Mar-a-Cloggo

Sounds like a perfect dwelling place for the shithound to retire in!