New River stretch turns muddy brown
Developer discharged ground water without permit, Lauderdale says
A developer without a proper permit discharged ground water into Fort Lauderdale’s storm drains Tuesday causing the New River to turn “a chocolate-milk color,” city officials and residents said.
As the river water grew discolored along a section flowing through downtown, residents became concerned, took pictures, turned to social media and called City Hall.
The culprit was DP Development and its construction site near Southeast Second Street and Southeast Fourth Avenue, said Chaz Adams, a spokesman for the city of Fort Lauderdale.
A call to DP Development’s Pompano Beach office was not immediately returned.
Jason Holloway, who lives at The Icon, a high-rise at 500 E. Las Olas Blvd., noticed the river looking different than usual Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s a chocolate-milk color and it’s progressing. It’s running toward the Intracoastal
now,” he said about 3 p.m. “It looks like it’s coming from up river. I just saw the odd color. I’ve just never seen that. I don’t know what it is.”
It was getting worse before his eyes as it flowed east and rounded a bend.
The contractor was having problems with its pumping systems, Adams said, and discharged ground water into the city’s storm water drainage system. The contractor did not have a proper permit, Adams said.
“The construction site was shut down and the contractor was issued a notice to appear before the city prosecutor with potential fines to be determined,” Adams said.
The contractor used a vacuum truck to clean out the storm drains, Adams said. “The New River appears to be returning to normal,” he said.
The discharge was not hazardous, Adams said.
A director with Broward County’s division for environmental protection said the case may not fall under its jurisdiction, but still would look into the matter.