A sinkhole opened under a Florida theme park earlier this month, dumping millions of gallons of wastewater near attractions, according to state environmental regulators and a company spokesperson.
Employees at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay – an animal-themed amusement park – discovered the 15-foot-by-15-foot sinkhole under a wastewater pond early on the morning of Nov. 18, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The pond is over 550 feet long and is located a few hundred feet from a popular water ride called Congo River Rapids.
"The opening drained the pond of water underground," Busch Gardens spokesperson Eddie Delgado told the Tampa Bay Times in a statement. "Water levels are monitored 24x7 and we were alerted to the issue as water levels began to slowly drop in the morning (on Nov. 18)."
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Later that day, the theme park informed the Florida environmental department about the sinkhole.
The area where the sinkhole formed was the last of a series of ponds used for the theme park's wastewater management system, according to Brian Humphreys of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The pond located above the sinkhole did not contain raw sewage, he said, though some of the other ponds in the park do carry biological material.
The department later estimated that 2.5 million gallons of wastewater were spilled.
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After the employees located the sinkhole, the park closed a dam to the remaining pools, according to the Tampa Bay Times. But despite their efforts, the sinkhole caused the pond to lose nearly four Olympic-sized swimming pools of wastewater.
There was no human waste found in the water, Delgado said, though it did contain runoff, including animal habitat cleaning.
The park is home to nearly 12,000 animals representing more than 300 species, according to the park's website.
Busch Gardens contracted a firm to evaluate the sinkhole and develop a plan to fix it, Humphreys said, adding water testing is ongoing.
The environmental department also brought in a geologist to oversee the theme park's response.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection did not respond to a request for comment.
