LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - Crews worked for a second day to repair a sewer main break in Lauderhill, causing frustration among residents dealing with standing water and the pervasive stench.
7SkyForce HD hovered over the scene as sewage gushed from the ground near Northwest 24th Street and 55th Avenue where a 24-inch main broke just after 11 a.m. Wednesday,
Those who live nearby said the situation is inconvenient, but the smell is worse.
“When I smelled that awful, horrific smell, I thought somebody was dead or something,” said resident Nakia Levon.
“You can clearly smell feces,” said resident Katiana Reyes. “You can smell everything. It’s horrible.”
Resident Kelunia Apollon said it goes beyond the stifling odor.
“Well, the smell is pretty bad, and then the traffic and everything like that is backed up,” she said. “We have one way in and one way out, so it’s pretty frustrating.”
City officials advised residents who live west of the Florida Turnpike to limit their water usage and to limit toilet flushes.
“It’s just that right now, the wastewater which comes down your drain, which goes down your toilet as you flush, has been rerouted,” said Lauderhill spokesperson Leslie Johnson, “so the system is moving around differently than it normally does.”
“That’s horrible. Like, how am I going to use the bathroom? How am I going to take a shower?” said resident Claudine Joseph.
“It’s aggravating. If I can’t use the bathroom in peace and flush the toilet and get the smell out of here, then it’s going to be trapped in my house,” said resident Demietrix Akins.
City officials said “the scheduled dates and times for a permanent repair will be announced at a later date.”
Officials stressed the water is safe to drink.
“The water coming out of the pipe is perfectly safe. It has not been affected,” said Johnson. “There is no boil water alert.”
Officials said a permanent fix will be installed at a later time.
“It should have gotten fixed earlier, and with all this rain, all this stuff, it’s just, I don’t know,” said Apollon.
Residents said they hope crews are able to finish soon.
“The smell is going into people’s houses. People had to get evacuated yesterday, and nobody should live like that,” said Reyes.
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