FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Crews are currently working to replace a sewage pipe that was among six that broke and caused sewage problems across a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood.
Workers returned to Victoria Park, located in the area of Northeast Fifth Street and 16th Avenue, to begin installing a new 16-inch pipe on Monday afternoon.
This pipe break was among six ruptures in the area since Dec. 10.
Officials released that over 126,877,295 combined gallons of sewage was discharged across the city. The amount is enough to fill 200 Olympic sized pools.
“When he had the pipe out of the manhole, and the steam was coming out of it that week, literally it did stink all over the neighborhood,” said Romer Lambert, a resident. “It made me sick to my stomach.”
The city said they will be spending close to $70 million to fix the break.
The sewage spill in Victoria Park came the same day a 12-inch sewer pipe burst on Northeast 36th Street, east of Bayview Drive, in the Coral Ridge Country Club Estates neighborhood.
Traffic in the area from 16th Avenue to 19th Avenue is being diverted as the replacement is installed.
Crews expect the installation process to be completed by mid February.
“This is our river,” said protest organizer Lisa Siegel. “This is what we’re leaving for our children, and our kids can’t go outside and fish at the dock right now.”
Over the weekend, residents in the area gathered together to make the signs for an upcoming protest and address the ongoing situation at Tarpon River Brewery on Sunday.
“We’ve had this issue for a long, long time,” said Jeff Maggio, a fisherman. “Everybody knows the infrastructure has been failing, but they kick the can down the road, and they wait for disasters like this to happen. We just can’t afford this anymore. The wildlife and the Intracoastal has been absolutely decimated.”
“We don’t even live near any of the breaks. We live up the river from where the breaks were, and we’re seeing dead fish and wildlife,” said Siegel. “There’s no wildlife in the river. We’re watching snooks go by our house.”
Fishermen also expressed how they felt about the leak.
“We actually live at the fork of the river — where the north and south forks meet — so we are literally miles away from where the breaks were and we still get the smell. We got the debris,” said protest organizer Julian Siegel.
A precautionary advisory remains in effect for the Himmarshee Canal.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis will discuss the progress the city has made on rebuilding infrastructure and plans for improvements at a meeting held at the City Hall Commission Chambers, located at 100 N. Andrews Avenue, on Jan. 9 at 6 p.m.
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