Piney Point neighbors have mixed reactions to evacuation order
PALMETTO, Fla. - With 316 homes under an evacuation notice in Manatee County, some residents are staying behind while others have left.
"We've got a house there. We’ve built so many memories there and it would be devastating if something happened to it," said Brittany May.
For 14 years, May and her family have lived off Chapman Road. The Piney Point gypsum stacks have towered over them.
"We got the text alerts that we needed to evacuate and we weighed all options for what we were going to do," she continued.
Friday night, as access to their road was blocked, May and her family left.
"It's always been in the back of our minds, the ‘what if something does happen to this thing.’ It’s disappointing that the owner wasn’t able to work with the county to do something years ago," she said.
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Residents and business owners in Piney Point say they’ve dealt with this problem for long enough. They now want a more permanent solution.
Sunday morning, the state and county repeated their concerns for residents living in the evacuation zone.
"Heed evacuation orders right now. Again, from the department's perspective, the greatest danger to public, safety, health and welfare is flooding," said Noah Valenstein, the secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
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As water is pumped from the gypsum stack to prevent a collapse, Manatee County administrator Dr. Scott Hopes said Piney Point is not out of a critical position, yet.
"If we should have a full breach, within minutes, we are down to about 340 million gallons that could breach in totality in a period of minutes and the models, for less than an hour, the models are as high as a 20-foot wall of water," he said.
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A controlled release of water continues at the site for the Piney Point phosphate plant in Manatee County. Officials said 2 million to 3 million gallons of water per day have been flowing through a leak in a containment wall for the past week.
Rod Griffon, a retired firefighter, has decided to stay home.
"We are not going to leave. We are here. Sitting up on a ridge. I don’t think that water will get to us," he said.
May and her family don't want to take any chances. Their home sits right next to the gypsum stack and they're waiting for the all-clear.
"Until they say everything is clear the water has been drained out as much as possible and there’s no threat, we’re going to continue to stay away from the house," she added.