Mayor talks progress in tour of Bradenton’s wastewater plant

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - It’s a heated topic in Bradenton -- The 1.7 million gallons of partially treated wastewater that was bypassed into the Manatee River after heavy rain Sept. 8.

Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown said the city is working hard to get to a point where that won’t have to happen again.

Brown said the city is building a new larger clarifier tank -- which will hold more wastewater.

Brown described the clarifier tank as a bathtub that gets filled up with wastewater to be treated. But heavy rain can fill up that tub faster than the water can be processed. To keep it from overflowing, workers open the drain - or bypass valve -- to drain some of that partially treated water.

The city is also building a new equalizer tank, allowing for three million gallons of overflow space when heavy rains push the facility to the limits.

The equalizer tank should be operating by October or November, he said.

Brown invited ABC7 to the wastewater reclamation facility to see first-hand the progress being made to rebuild and repair their treatment facility.

“When you look over to that way, you can see that the equalizer tank is already under construction,” Brown said.

“One of the goals with our equalizer tank over there, the three million gallons, is we’re hoping that we never have to use it, because that means that we’re able to keep up,” Brown said.

Brown explained the water diverted into the Manatee River had gone through 90% of the treatment process.

By 2032, the state will not allow a municipality to use a bypass valve to divert wastewater into a river - or any surface water. Brown says Bradenton is well ahead of that deadline

The city is also going to start allowing people to come to the plant to see the process for themselves.

Copyright 2025 WWSB. All rights reserved.