Stinky Sewer Line Break Floods Ft. Lauderdale Shopping Area
FORT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) – A 'number 2' situation became a number one job for Fort Lauderdale city workers after a sewer line ruptured near the Harbor Shops off the 17th Street Causeway.
The city said a 54 inch sewer line, located in the 1800 block of Cordova Road, broke sending an unknown amount of sewage into a number of parking areas of the shopping center.
As of late Thursday night, CBS 4 News was told that city workers still did not have access to the broken pipe to try and figure out what happened and how to repair the problem.
Thursday evening the city of Fort Lauderdale, in conjunction with the Broward Health Department, sent out a health advisory to people in several southeastern sections of Fort Lauderdale warning them of sewage contamination in recreational waters. The advisory affects people in Harbor Beach, Harbor Drive, Harbordale, Harbour Inlet, Lauderdale Harbours and Rio Vista. The warning advises residents to avoid fishing, swimming and jet skiing in the recreational waters.
At the Harbor Shops, the smell was overpowering.
"What you're seeing is, if you ever flush your toilet, that's what's on the ground right now," said Todd Routzahn, who works nearby.
Chelsea Barco, who was walking nearby, said the leak appears deep.
"It is like a lake in the middle of the parking lot. I'm not sure how deep it is," said Businesses in the area of Cordova Road and 18th Street remained open, but shop workers and their customers weren't happy about the whole situation.
"Gross is putting it mildly," said Nidgia Olds, who works nearby. "This is just, it's sickening. It's sickening. My eyes are just watering up, I just want to get into a building."
Mark Wampole, General Manager at Duffy's Sports Grill, placed employees on street corners to show drivers an alternate route to the shops one street to the west. He wants the city to take action.
"I'd like to see them put a big blinking sign on the street to let people know that a block up you can have access into the harbor shops where the Publix and all our businesses in the plaza are," Wampole told CBS 4's Carey Codd.
While there is no impact on drinking water, the city has those who get their water from Ft. Lauderdale to reduce their water use so repairs may be made more quickly and effectively. The effected cities include Ft. Lauderdale, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Oakland Park, Port Everglades Authority, Village of Sea Ranch Lakes, Wilton Manors and sections of Davie and Tamarac.
Workers dumped piles of dirt around the wastewater to create a barrier around it and prevent the water from flowing into nearby businesses. Workers also scooped chlorine into the water to try and kill the bacteria.
However, they could neither kill the sight nor the smell which left young shopper, Ashley Terdazo, feeling dirty.
"Worse than dirty," Ashley said. "Stinky with extra dirty."
For more information, contact the City of Fort Lauderdale 24-hour Customer Service Center at 954-828-8000.
