Models show that a full breach of the walls at the damaged Piney Point reservoir could cause "as high as a 20-foot wall of water" to surge into the surrounding area, Manatee County Acting Administrator Scott Hopes said at a Sunday press conference.
"So if you are in an evacuation area and you have not heeded that, you need to think twice and follow the orders," Hopes said.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection said a break was detected Friday in one of the walls of a 77-acre pond that has a depth of 25 feet and holds millions of gallons of water containing phosphorus and nitrogen from an old phosphate plant.
After officials attempted to plug the hole using rocks and other materials, engineers examined the Piney Point containment walls Saturday morning and determinedthere was imminent danger of collapse.
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