FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Cleanup efforts continue in a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood three days after a ruptured pipe caused raw sewage to spill into residential streets.
City officials said a 54-inch sewer pipe burst near the 900 block of Ponce De Leon Drive, at around 11 a.m., Tuesday.
The spill led residents in the Rio Vista neighborhood to suffer from the smell for nearly three days.
“It’s a mess,” said June Davis, a resident. “They’ve been updating the pipes on my street, and I guess something erupted here last night. I don’t know what, but it sure doesn’t smell very nice, does it?”
Officials said significant progress had been made in pumping the water out, but the work continues.
“We are definitely seeing improvement,” said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis. “We have a full staff out here. Our contractors are here. Our consultants are here.”
“I think it’s going to be resolved in the next week, totally,” said Nancy, a resident. “We’re very patient that it’s getting resolved, and I can see that the pipe was laid overnight to be connected. I don’t know quite how that’s going to work, but they are making progress.”
7News cameras captured heavy machinery being used to dig around to find the rupture, Wednesday.
“The problem is trying to dig down into the ground to find the actual hole — or wherever it’s broken — is risky because if the pipe is weak, the pressure of the ground right now is holding it together,” Trantalis said.
City officials have urged residents and visitors to not boat or swim in the area until the problem is fixed.
“Well, I feel sorry for all these folks right here that have all this sewage in their yard,” said Mark Shiley, a resident in the area.
While the cause has yet to be determined, officials believe it might have been due to fatigue in the pipes since they’ve been in place since the 1970s.
“That’s a mess, but that’s what age’ll do,” Shiley said. “Bottom line is, this all needs to be dug up and replaced. It’s 100 years old.”
A plan is in place to reroute the flow to another part of the system and stop the sewage from going into the Tarpon River as soon as end of day, Thursday.
“Dump trucks have increased from six to 16,” Trantalis said, “so we are definitely doing our best to try to minimize the impact.”
Some residents are not happy with the spill being dumped into the river.
“Well, it stinks,” said Douglas McDaniel, a resident, “but I feel most sorry for the manatees, our life in the river.”
Dump trucks are now tasked with hauling the spill away, but it is moving very slowly.
Some residents in the area seemed unfazed by the sewage spill.
“It doesn’t smell as bad,” Doug Reiter said. “I think people should eat better food to make the smell go away. Realistically, when it’s done, it’s done.”
Residents remain under the precautionary advisory for water-related recreational activities.
Officials said the removal may take between five and seven days, so the city is providing the crew with meals.
“They’re going to be here for a few days, so we’re going to try to give lunch and dinner for them everyday,” said a Fire Rescue representative.
Wednesday night, crews installed air raiders to control the odor and, more importantly, to improve the oxygen levels in the water, thereby improving the water quality.
Crews continue to work to find the leak.
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