Yet Another Break Spews Raw Sewage Onto Fort Lauderdale Streets
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Once again, foul-smelling raw sewage spewed onto the streets off Fort Lauderdale's Bayview Drive after another sewer line break.
The latest pipe ruptured is under the parking lot of George English Park, which is right next to the Galleria Mall.
The city said the break may be in a 14-inch line linked to a nearby pumping station.
The city hopes to have a temporary fix in place by late Tuesday or early Wednesday. Then, they plan to replace the entire 14-inch pipe.
Bayview Drive is closed in both directions from south of NE 11 Street to Sunrise Boulevard. Drivers can use NE 25 Avenue and NE 11 Street as a detour route.
Just last month, crews were at the same park to repair a 42-inch main which broke. The latest break is a smaller section connected to the same pipe.
"We'll have to put in another bypass so that we can take the flow out of the 14-inch pipe and actually replace it," said city spokesman Chaz Adams.
Adams said over the next five years, they make more than $600 million in pipe upgrades and enhancements to the aging pipe system.
"We appreciate and we understand what folks are going through they've shown an incredible amount of patience throughout this ordeal," he said.
Aleksandra Zupa said the recent breaks have been exhausting for her.
"The first time it was okay, it happened, they are working on it, but now the second time, that's really too much," she said.
Zupa owns Fun Center Fort Lauderdale, a tourist rental business that she says has been both financially and emotionally draining in recent weeks. Their rental watercraft are launched at George English Park, which has been closed now for over a month during what is normally Zupa's peak season. She said her sales have dropped to near zero.
"I really don't know what to expect. I don't know how I can sustain the business, just to keep going," she said. "Just to come to work I have to take the long route and drive all around and then not be able to walk around here. And the smell, it's just not good, it's not even healthy."
Captain Jeff Maggio runs a fishing business called Lunker Dog. He usually starts his charters at George English Park to catch bait fish but not these days. The city shut the park down last month. Maggie is furious.
"This is poisoning the whole ecosystem. Complete devastation and people don't get it," Maggio said. "People are not coming here because of this. It's hurting. It's hurting bad."
Fort Lauderdale City Manager Chris Lagerbloom said the amount of sewage hitting the water from Monday's break is much less than the one in January. Still, he said the city is working to clean the lake.
"We're also actively engaged with these environmental contractors with restoring and removing sludge from George English Lake," Lagerbloom said.
The work is costly and the city now also owes the state $1.8 million for sewage spills.
Lagerbloom hopes the state allows the city to use that money on upgrading the sewer system.
"I'd like to be able to reinvest in our system," he said. "Because any given point, any money invested means it's newer and more stable in Fort Lauderdale."
But with more than 200 million gallons of sewage flowing into city waters since December many are frustrated and worried about the impact on tourism, business and the environment. The city plans to spend hundreds of millions to replace sewer lines and Mayor Dean Trantalis blames the previous city leaders for the mess.
"What we're witnessing here is the result of neglect and indifference that previous administration perpetrated on this community," Trantalis said.
Over the weekend, the city held a meeting in the Rio Vista neighborhood which has seen more than half a dozen breaks since December.
Commissioner Ben Sorensen told the gathering that right now the city is putting in a half-mile long sewer main between SE 9 and SE 10 Avenues and the work doesn't end there.
"It'll be done in about two months and then we're going to move toward completing the rest of the seven-point-five-mile main sewer line and we're estimating within 16 months that should be complete," he said.
There will be some road closures while crews work.
The city has been fined nearly two million dollars by the state for the 211-million gallons of sewage that spilled during the leaks.
