FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Crews are pumping out wastewater after a sewer main broke in Fort Lauderdale, the eleventh pipe rupture the city has seen in two and a half months.
City officials said the break occurred in the parking lot area of George English Park, located at 1101 Bayview Drive, at 7:30 a.m., Monday.
The break is believed to be in a 14-inch sewer line that leads from a pumping station at the park to a main line located about 100 feet away.
Local fisherman Jeff Maggio said the effect these breaks are having on the environment cannot be stressed enough.
“I just can’t believe this is going on. This is totally crushing the marine industry down here,” he said. “The tourist industry is getting beat up. The wildlife is just getting destroyed.”
Wastewater quickly spilled onto roadways and into coastal waters.
7SkyForce HD flew over the scene where the sewage water could be seen creeping toward cleaner waters.
“The flow is actually coming into the streets. Some of that flow is reaching our storm drains, and those storm drains empty into the George English Lagoon,” said City of Fort Lauderdale spokesperson Chaz Adams.
This latest break occurred in the same area where crews capped a break on a larger line in January.
“We’re working to remove the discharge,” said Adams. “Folks will then start digging, so that we can expose the pipe and take a look at the damage. Likely, at this point, we’ll have to put in another bypass.”
This is the latest sewer line break in Fort Lauderdale, rising the total of sewage breaks to eight since December, in addition to three water main breaks.
Tankers were also seen pumping out as much of the murky spill as possible before the pipe can be replaced.
“We’re just going to replace it end to end,” said Fort Lauderdale City Manager Chris Lagerbloom. “We can’t just go in and put 20 feet in. We’ve got to make sure that we’re not dealing with this pipe again six month from now.”
Residents said they want the city to resolve the smelly situation as quickly as possible.
“They gotta do something about it,” said one resident in the area. “It’s pretty nasty. I’m not swimming in it.”
When asked what the stench smells like, another man said, “Crap, kind of sulfury.”
“Certainly we appreciate and we understand what folks are going through,” said Adams. “They’ve shown an incredible amount of patience throughout this ordeal, and we’re trying to get it taken care of as quickly and expeditiously as possible.”
Police have shut down Bayview Drive north of Sunrise Boulevard. At around 10 p.m., 7News cameras captured all four lanes of the roadway completely flooded in front of the park.
“Oh, wow. Holy moly,” said a man at a nearby gas station after seeing the sewer water continuing to flow onto the street. “There was another pipe break there, wasn’t there?”
Sandbags have been placed in nearby parking lots to try to prevent the raw sewage from spilling into the area.
Drivers in the area are advised to seek alternate routes.
Last week, the state of Florida fined the city $1.8 million for the 212 million gallons of sewage that has flowed into waterways and neighborhoods of the city.
Maggio said he thinks this is more than the city can handle.
“I think the city is just so far behind the 8-ball that they’re never going to be able to catch up,” he said. “They’re going to need help. They’re just way out of their league.”
“It just keeps happening in new places, so they fix one thing, and then it happens at another place,” said resident Logan Broliath, “because all of it is part of the same problem, which is the old pipes.”
Others are more optimistic.
“I really believe that the city is on top of this, and it’s all going to get resolved,” said resident Diane Sobo.
Lagerbloom said he believes far less wastewater will make its way into the lake this time.
“Of course, any impact is more than I would like, but we should see less impact to that water body,” said Lagerbloom.
City officials said they are embarking on a $65 million plan to replace more than seven miles of main sewer lines.
Adams said that’s just one of the steps they’re taking to update the city’s infrastructure.
“Over the next five years, we’re putting over $600 million into the upgrades and enhancements that we’re making,” said Adams. “I would expect, as time goes on, we will continue to invest hundreds of millions of dollars.”
The process of cleaning the streets and installing the bypass line for this break is expected to take a few days. Crews said it could be Tuesday before they finally dig down and begin making repairs.
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