ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A Central Florida neighborhood is dealing with foul odors and environmental concerns after thousands of gallons of raw sewage spilled into a waterway near Lake Orlando, city officials confirmed.
The spill happened Tuesday near the 3900 block of South Lake Orlando Parkway after a sewer force main was struck during underground work by a contractor for AT&T. The breach caused an estimated 10,000 gallons of sewage to overflow into private stormwater detention ponds, impacting Lake Orlando.
Mark and Cyndi Martin, who live along Golfside Drive, said they woke up to brown, contaminated water filling a pond behind their home.
“It is like opening a port-a-potty and walking in,” Cyndi Martin said. “That smell that you get from a port-a-potty.”
Cyndi Martin said the odor made it difficult to remain outside and raised health concerns.
“It’s like living next to a sewer plant,” Mark Martin said.
City crews were seen pumping contaminated water out of the pond in an effort to remove the sewage. Mark Martin said the smell is expected to worsen as decaying fish and wildlife are exposed.
“A waterway contaminated with raw sewage and right now they’re pumping it out,” he said. “You’re going to have the smell of raw sewage plus decaying fish and wildlife.”
The Martins said the city told them an AT&T contractor caused the damage. In a statement, AT&T confirmed the incident, saying the damage was likely caused by inaccurate underground utility markings.
“In this case, as soon as our contractor was aware of the damage, the local utility provider was notified so that repairs could be made as quickly as possible,” the company said.
While the pipe has since been repaired, the Martins remain concerned about environmental impacts and lingering odors once the water is fully drained.
“If they drain it, they’re going to leave all those animals in there to die,” Mark Martin said. “The smell is going to be twice as bad.”
The city of Orlando said it will continue regular E. coli testing before lifting its health alert for Lake Orlando. Residents are advised to avoid contact with affected water areas until testing confirms the water is safe.
Wildlife is abundant around the lake, the Martins said, including otters that are frequently spotted.
“There’s a lot of wildlife here,” Mark Martin said. “We see otters at least once a week.”