Repair Work Continues On Sewage Line Breaks In Fort Lauderdale's Victoria Park & Coral Ridge Club Estates
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - Crews are working to repair two new sewer line breaks in Fort Lauderdale.
On Monday, a 12-inch sewer main on NE 36th Street east of Bayview Drive in Coral Ridge Country Club Estates sprang a leak. Pump stations that service the line were shut off so that the flow through it would stop and the damaged area of pipe could be isolated.
Tanker trucks serviced the pump station during the overnight hours and repair work began in the morning.
The second new leak occurred in a 16-inch sewer main on NE 5th Street in the vicinity of NE 16th Avenue in the Victoria Park neighborhood. This is the same 16-inch pipe that broke last Friday. The current break is located in a section to the east of the earlier break.
Pump stations servicing the line were shut off and the flow out of the pipe onto the street stopped. Vacuum and tanker trucks removed the water from the street. Crews are working on installing between 20 to 40 feet of new pipe. The line is expected to be back in service later Tuesday.
"It's frustrating. It really is. It's going into the holiday again, just like last week. It's just it smells, it's nasty," said Victoria Park resident Bari Wiggins.
Wiggins lives just steps from the break. She says the six recent breaks around town show there is a bigger problem.
"The problem here in Fort Lauderdale is that the pipes need to be replaced, not necessarily repaired. The problem is it's a big job and will cost a lot of money but we're paying a lot in taxes all ready for it," said Williams.
City spokesman Chaz Adams said replacement pipes are already on the scene and ready to go into the ground.
"They'll be installing between 20 and 40 feet of new pipe along NE 5th street so that damaged pipe can be replaced and brought back online today (Tuesday)" he said.
As for the earlier breaks, there is more good news.
Backfilling work has been completed around the new section of 54-inch pipe that was installed on SE 10 Street along the north side of Virginia Young Park.
Crews are still cleaning and pressure washing streets, sidewalks, and driveways in the affected area. Stormwater staff conducted maintenance activities on catch basins, tidal valves, and storm drains in the affected area. Virginia Young Park remains closed while repair activities are taking place.
Meanwhile, the repair valve device around a submerged 48-inch pipe in the Himmarshee Canal, which also sprung a leak last week, was checked on Monday and it was functioning properly.
In the big picture, city leaders are working fast, hoping to not only repair, but replace, old, crumbling sewer pipes that have been fowling the land, air and water. Over five years, they plan to spend $600 million to get it a handle on it.
"We're expediting everything. We had a meeting with five of the largest pipe contractors last week. We are looking at proposals today. They are moving fast forward to get things in the ground and there will be no slowing down until these pipes are replaced," said Adams.
