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		</div><p>Emergency workers in Florida are trying to prevent the collapse of a large wastewater pond while evacuating the area to avoid a “catastrophic flood”, the state’s governor said.</p>
<p>Manatee County officials said the latest models show that a breach at the old phosphate plant reservoir has the potential to gush out 340 million gallons of water in a matter of minutes, risking a 20ft wall of water.</p>
<p>“What we are looking at now is trying to prevent and respond to, if need be, a real catastrophic flood situation,” Ron DeSantis said at a press conference after flying over the old Piney Point phosphate mine.</p>
<p>Authorities have closed off portions of US Highway 41 and ordered evacuations of 316 homes. Some families were placed in local hotels.</p>
<p>A jail one mile away from the pond is not being evacuated but officials are moving people and staff to the second floor and putting sandbags on the ground floor.</p>
<p>Manatee County administrator Scott Hopes said the models show the area could be covered with between 1ft to 5ft of water, and the second floor is 10ft above ground.</p>
<p>County officials say well water remains unaffected and there is no threat to Lake Manatee, the area’s primary source of drinking water.</p>
<p>The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says the water in the pond is primarily salt water mixed with wastewater and storm water.</p>
<p>It has elevated levels of phosphorous and nitrogen and is acidic, but not expected to be toxic, the agency said.</p>
<p>Crews have been discharging water since the pond began leaking in March.</p>
<p>On Friday, a significant leak that was detected escalated the response and prompted the first evacuations and a declaration of a state of emergency on Saturday.</p>
<p>A portion of the containment wall in the reservoir shifted, leading officials to think a collapse could occur at any time.</p>
<p>Mr Hopes said on Sunday that with new state resources, crews will be nearly doubling the amount of water being pumped out of the pond and taken to Port Manatee.</p>
<p>Currently about 22,000 gallons of water are being discharged per minute, and Mr Hopes said he expects the risk of collapse to decrease by Tuesday.</p>
<p>Early on Sunday, officials saw an increase of water leaking out, but Mr Hopes says it seems to have plateaued.</p>
<p>“Looking at the water that has been removed and the somewhat stability of the current breach, I think the team is much more comfortable today than we were yesterday,” he said. “We are not out of the critical area yet.”</p>
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