'It Reeks, It's Awful', Fort Lauderdale Residents Frustrated By 7th Sewer Line Break
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - Crews worked through the night to fix yet another sewer line break in Fort Lauderdale.
This is the seventh break to flood streets with sludge in about seven weeks.
Some residents say the city's sewage system problems are now bordering on the absurd and it's a situation no one should have to put up with.
"It reeks, it's awful," said resident Curtis Park, who lives nearby and could smell it downwind. "It smells like a mixture of well, fecal matter and sour eggs."
Parker believes the city's development is to blame.
"The infrastructure that exists here isn't capable of handling all the people that currently live here," he said.
The break occurred in a 42-inch main at George English Park, right across the street from the Galleria Mall, Thursday morning. This is a main transmission line in the city, it runs for seven and a half miles, parts of it have broken four times since December.
"It has to be rectified. Doing little patch work stuff like this, it's not going to prevent the next one from breaking because there seems to be something systemic about it," said resident Omar Eldakar.
"I'm as frustrated as they are that we continue to have these breaks," said City Manager Chris Lagerbloom. "The pipe went in in the early 70's and it's at its useful life."
Complicating things, more sewage is spewing into the Middle River through the storm drain system.
The city installed aerators to help oxygenate the water.
"It's bad for a number of reasons. For one, it's just unsanitary," said Omar Eldakar. "You really don't want that in there to mess with the wildlife and obviously our own health."
"As a boater, it sucks and it's a shame, but I know they're going to get it cleaned up. They always have and they always will," said Daniel Ares.
Some residents and business owners said they were concerned about the effect on the environment and tourism, with frequent water advisories shutting down water access.
"This has devastated my business," said boat captain Jeff Maggio. "This has been going on for close to a month now. I've been taking my clients to Haulover, down to Miami. I'm literally afraid to get them wet. I don't want them touching the water. I'm afraid to get bait in these canals."
State environmental regulators are aware of the sewage spills into rivers and canals and have told the city they will likely face fines.
It's already been costly for the city with the previous six sewer main breaks costing a total of more than $14 million. The cost of replacing the entire system could be well over a billion dollars and take decades.
According to the city, the contractor has completed excavation work in an area to the north of the damaged portion. A tapping saddle was installed and concrete was poured around it to secure the saddle in place.
Friday, an area to the south of the break will be excavated and similar work will be done on that portion of pipe. The contractor will also begin assembling a bypass pipe, which when ready, will be connected to the two tapping saddles.
"The repair work entails installing a bypass line that will divert the flow around the damaged portion of the pipe to keep it fully contained in the system and prevent any further discharge from entering into the river," said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis.
Crews are working on a bypass hope to have it complete and ready to switch over by midnight on Friday when the flow is at the lowest.
Once the bypass is up and running, crews will work to repair the broken section. They are hoping to have that repair done by late Sunday or early Monday.
Work is already being done to replace the entire line, from end to end.
"Two pipe contractors will work simultaneously, one from the north end of the city, one from the south end, so that the seven and a half miles of new pipe can be built as quickly as possible and we can transfer service off the current sewer line," said Trantalis.
A precautionary advisory for water-related recreational activities is in effect for the Middle River and surrounding waterways. The boundaries of the advisory are as follows: NE 26 Street (north); Las Olas Boulevard (south); North Victoria Park Road (west); and the Intracoastal Waterway (east).
In addition, the following restrictions will be in effect immediately:
• George English Lake is closed until further notice.
• George English Park Boat Ramp is closed until further notice.
The precautionary advisory will remain in effect until further notice.