The Titusville City Council is scheduled to vote on a $70,000 settlement during its meeting Tuesday night stemming from a lawsuit filed by a local resident on behalf of her minor child. The lawsuit was filed after the child contracted a bacterial infection in December 2020 allegedly related to a sewage spill at Sand Point Park.
The lawsuit, filed in November 2021, accuses the city of Titusville of being negligent in maintaining its sewer infrastructure, resulting in a significant leak that contaminated the retention basins at Sand Point Park. Over 7.2 million gallons of sewage reportedly flowed into the park’s basins before city officials discovered the burst sewer pipe three days after the leak began.
The youth, who was paddling and swimming in the Indian River Lagoon near the park, began to show severe symptoms shortly after his outings. The boy’s condition worsened, leading to a prolonged hospital stay of more than two months during which he had to undergo several chemotherapy treatments. Despite these treatments, the boy is still unable to walk.
The lawsuit alleges that the bacterial infection was directly related to the sewage spill, a claim that the boy’s doctor also supports. The case was further complicated by the fact that another person contracted the same bacterial infection while swimming near Sand Point Park during the same time period.
In August 2024, a tentative settlement agreement was reached that would require the City of Titusville to pay $70,000 to settle the litigation. The City’s public defender, Jennifer Barron, along with the City’s risk manager, recommended that the City Council approve this settlement.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the City Council will have the opportunity to either approve or reject the $70,000 settlement or take any other course of action it deems appropriate. Funds for the settlement would come from the city’s general liability fund.
The decision in the matter comes nearly four years after the initial incident, which not only sparked legal action but also resulted in a $200,000 fine from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The city later mitigated the fine by installing floating islands with plants to absorb excess nutrients in the park’s ponds.
The City Council’s decision represents a significant development in a case that has drawn attention to the city’s infrastructure management and its impact on public health.
