FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Crews have been working around the clock to repair a third sewage pipe break in another Fort Lauderdale neighborhood.
The pipe broke in the Beverly Heights community, near Southeast Second Street and Ninth Avenue, Saturday, just one day after another pipe problem left residents in Rio Vista dealing with foul-smelling sewage.
Neighbors said they have had enough of the stench of the raw sewage permeating the neighborhood right around the holidays.
“You can’t necessarily count on people in the government to do what they’re supposed to do,” resident John Wilkes said. “We’re reliving our past. We can do better. It’s the smell you’re not accustomed to. It’s one you shouldn’t become accustomed to.”
Some said they have had to leave for other areas.
“I don’t understand,” one resident said Friday night. “Who is in charge? Who’s running the process? Who’s accountable?”
Crews have been pumping the raw sewage into the Tarpon River and sending divers into it to offset the effects.
“I know what everybody and what they are going through and their yards being destroyed, but this river is going to take a long time to recoup,” a second resident said Friday night.
Officials said the third sewage pipe break is coming from the same 50-year-old sewage system that has been plaguing the Rio Vista neighborhood since Dec. 10.
“Significant parts of this pipe are the thickness of one-tenth of an inch, so we’re dealing with a very thin pipe,” Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Ben Sorensen said on Friday.
Neighbors said they wonder when the sewage problems will end.
“The smell is reminiscent of something I’ve known a long time ago, an open sewer system,” Wilkes said. “I mean, it’s human waste that should be disposed of in an orderly manner, and we thought we had it taken care of. We’ve gone from the 21st century to medieval times here [with the] open sewer system.”
“They fix one little spot, and another one breaks open,” resident Karl Hagen said. “That can’t keep working.”
City officials said that they’re working to install a permanent solution.
They are also advising residents to avoid touching water and any water-related activities in the surrounding areas because of possible sewage contamination.
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