This story stinks.
Overflowing, fresh sewage pouring into a Lake Worth apartment complex parking lot. Tenants say it’s been happening for a year! A fed up renter called NewsChannel 5, saying nothing has been done about this health hazard.
Around 6 p.m. every night, a toxic tide rolls in.
It's what's standing in the way of sisters Josaline and Jasmine from playing outside.
“When we come outside, it hurts our eyes, it smells really bad, mosquitoes start biting us,” Jasmine says.
“It's why I called Channel 5,” says the sister's grandmother, Kelsey Burke. “I don't know what's going on but it's got to stop because people living over here pay rent.”
To sniff out how this happened, we asked Florida Department of Health Spokesperson Timothy O'Connor.
“They've had overflowing sewage from the septic field,” he says.
He explained the septic tank is built to accommodate a 10 bedroom dwelling, but the complex's water usage far exceeds its capacity.
“They've been given notice of violation because it's incumbent upon them to maintain it properly and make sure it doesn't overflow.”
We asked the owner of the complex via text why there's too much water flowing. He blamed the first contractor. That contractor says the company got bad information from the owner.
Whoever is to blame, the health department says a solution is in sight.
“The owner is cooperating. They've retained a second contractor,” O’Connor says. “We're asking them to add a third drain field as well as repair the current facility so we don't have this issue.”
The owner ensured us the problem would be fixed.
We asked Kelsey, “Is that answer good enough for you?”
She replied, “No because they have to do something right away because he collects money from everybody.”
The state health department says that they've expedited this process but they didn't actually offer a timeline as to when this would actually be fixed.
