Pump at wastewater station fails

A temporary pump installed at the City of Jacksonville’s Ellis Wastewater pump Station failed Wednesday night during a heavy rain causing the release of about 9,900 gallons of wastewater from the pump station, according to a press release from the city.

At about 9 p.m. Wednesday, some of the wastewater spilled into Scales Creek, which was also swollen by heavy rain, and caused flooding to the area around the pump station.

The city is in the process of upgrading several pump stations to prevent future overflows and the Ellis station was in the process of receiving upgrades. Temporary pumps were installed to handle the normal flow for the station while work was being done but they were unable to keep up with the increased flow due to Wednesday night’s heavy rains and failed, the release said.

The city’s Water Quality Division is taking samples of water in the area to assess the situation.