People living in an illegal trailer park in South Florida have been accused of dumping human waste into the groundwater.
According to WPLG Local 10, residents pay $800 per month to live on the five-acre property in the Redlands, where the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Environmental Crimes Unit served a search warrant.
Sgt. Christopher Garcia told WPLG that sewage in the groundwater is contributing to an E. coli outbreak. Authorities said illegal dumping has been a problem throughout the entire county.
“We’re constantly busy,” Garcia said. “This unit averages anywhere from 30 to 60 arrests a month. We’ve issued millions of fines.”
WPLG reported that both the trailer park’s property manager and the assistant property manager were arrested and charged with disregard for the environment and felony pollution.
Florida isn’t the only state reportedly having trouble with illegal dumping. In 2024, a septic truck was caught on camera dumping waste into a sewage system in Texas. It’s a global problem, too. In July, a Welsh water company was accused of discharging raw sewage into the water.
According to The Nature Conservancy, 80% of the world’s wastewater enters the environment untreated every day, contributing to habitat loss and extinction. The contaminated water is filled with pathogens and microplastics, which can impact public health.
Coming into contact with water contaminated with sewage can result in illness, per the U.S. Geological Survey. E. coli, a rod-shaped bacterium often found in the feces of humans and animals, can cause meningitis and intestinal infections.
Preventing illegal dumping requires accessible options for waste disposal and sustainable materials management, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Strong support from leaders and community members can also help keep the environment clean.
“We got to take pride in where we live,” Garcia told WPLG. “And nobody wants to live in a community that’s basically strewn with trash all over the place. They want to live in a clean, safe community, which is what we’re striving to get.”
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