PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — WPTV is listening to the concerns of Port St. Lucie residents about potential water contamination concerns on the Treasure Coast.
For three days, WPTV Reporter Tyler Hatfield kept an eye on murky water seen near HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital, next to the Woodenstork Walking Trail.
John Debus walks along the trail weekly with his wife and saw something in the water Sunday that made him stop in his tracks.
“There was a ton of nasty brownish/reddish nasty looking water pouring out here into the creek or this lake,” Debus said.
On Monday, Hatfield walked with Debus to be shown the off-colored water.
Robert Barnes also walk the trail that sits right behind the hospital.
“I would like to know if it’s anything harsh that’s going into the lake,” Barnes said. “Any chemicals, anything that’s hazardous to the lake.”
Searching for answers, WPTV reached out to HCA Florida, which confirmed its parking garage and hospital expansion project contracted out to construction company Brasfield & Gorrie.
A company's spokesperson explained that the discharge is part of a permitted de-watering plan for the project and that the process involved removing surface and ground water from the job site so construction can take place.
The South Florida Water Management District confirmed with WPTV the dewatering permits for the site was approved.
Brasfield & Gorrie said multiple on-site surveys found no violations and it does their own sampling:
“Our construction team monitors discharge water quality daily. This includes sampling at all discharge points to confirm that any particles in the water are at acceptable levels, as defined by SFWMD.”
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is looking into the issue, telling WPTV:
“We'll need to look into it further from the NPDES Stormwater side, including conducting a site visit.”
The Florida DEP said they will be trying to do a site visit by the end of the week.
