July 18, 2023

City of Orlando - LAKE ALERT Issued for Little Wekiva Canal/Lake Orlando

To address citizen concerns related to water quality, the Stormwater Section has developed a public information system, "Lake Alert," to provide seasonal and localized warnings (and updates) for City of Orlando lakes. An announcement has been provided below regarding the lake(s) where water quality has been a concern.

• Type of water quality concern: Possible elevated E. coli counts due to a sanitary sewer overflow
• Location: Silver Star Road, west of Mercy Drive
• Cause: Broken Force Main; approximately 2,500 gallons of sanitary waste discharged into the Little Wekiva Canal, approximately 1.1 miles south of Lake Orlando
• City Response: City Water Reclamation crews stopped the sanitary sewer overflow by diverting the flow to other sanitary lines within the collection system. City vactor crews and a private contractor collected sanitary waste in the street and cleaned the impacted areas. The flow will continue to be diverted until the pipe is repaired.

The overflow caused sanitary sewer waste to enter the Little Wekiva Canal, which ultimately discharges to Lake Orlando. The City has issued the Alert as a precaution in the chance that the bacteria counts may be slightly elevated when it reaches the lake after going through an extensive stormwater canal system. City Stormwater personnel will be taking bacteria samples at strategic locations along the canal system and at the lake to measure the potential impact of the spill. Updates will be sent via email and to the City's Lake Alert website and Lake Alert Hotline phone number. In addition, Warning Signs have been placed along the impacted portion of Little Wekiva Canal and within Rosemont Preserve on the shorelines of Lake Orlando.

As a health precaution, the City is advising that all water contact activities cease until further notice.

Public Notification – Please continue to call the Lake Alert number, 407.246.2220, for the most up-to-date information regarding your lake.

For further information regarding the sewer discharge, please contact Chancey Springstead, Water Reclamation Compliance Program Manager, at chancey.springstead@orlando.gov. For water quality questions, please contact Lisa Lotti, Stormwater Compliance Manager, at lisa.lotti@orlando.gov.