ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — Residents of Cypress Point in Escambia County are at their wits’ end. Saturday afternoon, thousands of gallons of raw sewage spilled near Scenic Highway, running through their neighborhood, feeding into the Escambia Bay, and it’s not the first time.<\/p>\n
WEAR News reported on this issue first in August of 2024 <\/a>and in September<\/a>, then again in March<\/a>, and yet again in May.<\/a><\/p>\n Residents say this has been a recurring problem with the Emerald Coast Utility Authority since 2022, when 400,000 gallons were first spilled.<\/p>\n “I was in Iraq twice, and I am scared to go into that water,” 14-year resident of Cypress Point Shawn Werchin said. <\/p>\n Saturday, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection reported more than 1,000 gallons of sewage had leaked into the bay.<\/p>\n I can tell you what I can do. I can sell my house and move elsewhere,” 11-year resident of Cypress Point, George Sigler, said.<\/p>\n It was the result of a broken force main — the same one the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority has been promising to replace, according to a previous interview. <\/p>\n “Right along the Scenic Highway is a force main made out of cast iron built in the 1960s,” ECUA executive director Bruce Woody said. “It is reaching the latter end of its useful life. So we have an infrastructure project plan to replace that.”<\/p>\n The infrastructure project began in August 2024, when ECUA spent $1.5 million to replace Olive Road Station’s force main, but that was two years after the sewage spills started.<\/p>\n “You know how many gallons have fallen, have been spilled into this bay since 2022? 1.5 million have gone into the Escambia Bay,” Werchin said.<\/p>\n When that didn’t work, ECUA spent another $2 million to address ‘problematic areas.’ That was supposed to be completed last month.<\/p>\n “This water used to be clear, and you used to see fish swimming up and down,” Werchin said. “Look, it just looks like chocolate milk now.”<\/p>\n Despite the promises to fix the issue by ECUA, the sewage spills continue.<\/p>\n “It always seems to happen on the weekend. That’s probably because you had Blue Angel weekend, and another quarter million visitors in town, possibly more,” environmental worker Sava Varazo said. <\/p>\n Sigler has seen eight spills and even got a staph infection behind his house after getting into the bay.<\/p>\n “I had a slight cut on my leg, it got so infected, and I almost had to go to the hospital with it because they never made us aware,” Sigler said. <\/p>\n In addition to the health risks for people, environmentalists say the amount of sewage being dumped into Escambia Bay can cause massive fish kills.<\/p>\n “I used to be able to catch mullet,” Werchin said. “We haven’t seen one mullet jump since we’ve been talking. We used to see mullet jumping constantly. I used to catch crabs here, but I haven’t caught hardly any crabs all season.”<\/p>\n Sigler has spent years talking with ECUA and offering up solutions. He says it falls on deaf ears.<\/p>\n “I’m at my wits’ end with this thing. This is about the 8th spill here,” Sigler said. “It just continues every few months, another spill. Then they come up with the same reasoning, ‘Oh, we got old sewer pipes,’ and then I mention, ‘Why don’t y’all put up the sluice gates,’ and they say they’ll think about it.”<\/p>\n “They don’t think about it, they don’t care,” he added. <\/p>\n Residents demand ECUA take action now, not just for themselves, but for everyone who uses Escambia Bay.<\/p>\n “Eight spills later, and they don’t care,” Sigler said. <\/p>\n “I want them to fix it. Do what’s right,” Werchin said. <\/p>\n Last year with the executive director spoke with WEAR News about these same issues. He said the utility authority had plans for a $20 million infrastructure upgrade project that will take four to five years to complete.<\/p>\n But, it wouldn’t start until they had the funds.<\/p>\n We reached out to ECUA for comment on Sunday and have not heard back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — Residents of Cypress Point in Escambia County are at their wits’ end. 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