New River shows more pollution; this time it’s milky

Sheets of milky, contaminated water have swept down the New River in Fort Lauderdale in the past few days, marking the second incidence in recent weeks of water pollution in the river.

In the canyon of high rises through which the New River winds downtown, residents have seen pulses of the whitish water flowing past docks and seawalls, where the discolored currents contrast sharply with the river’s normal dark green.

“It’s very light-colored, traveling very fast,” said Jason Taub, a resident along the river. “Every day for the last week.”

Fort Lauderdale city inspectors are checking nearby construction sites to see whether any of them failed to prevent dirt, sand and mud from washing into the city’s stormwater system, which drains into the river.

From the 37th floor of

Las Olas River House, Amber McNamara, who works there as owner of a housekeeping company, said she could see the change in the stormwater that’s normally discharged into the river through an outfall pipe.

“It’s very white and and it spreads from Andrews to Third Avenue,” she said.

“I’ve never seen white, cloudy discharge coming out of that pipe before. It turns the river an opaque beige, white color.”

A few weeks ago, residents reported murky, “chocolate-milk color” water and an oily sheen on the river. Environmental inspectors for Broward County identified the source as a Fort Lauderdale street-improvement project at Southeast 2nd Street and Southeast 4th Avenue, where stormwater was being used under pressure and a pump was found to be leaking diesel fuel.

The pressurized stormwater, used in place of a drill, was picking up mud and soil and flowing back into the river, making the water dark and murky, said Carlos Adorisio, engineering unit supervisor in

the county’s environmental department. One or two quarts of diesel fuel escaped from the pump, he said, enough to create an oily sheen on the water.

The county plans to issue a violation to the city and the company doing the work, D.P. Development of Pompano Beach, said Sermin Turegun, director of the county’s environmental engineering and permitting division. But she said it didn’t appear that the city street-work site had anything to do with the most recent source of pollution, since that site has been cleaned up and is now operating without using pressurized water.

D.P. Development did not respond to a message requesting comment.

Chaz Adams, spokesman for Fort Lauderdale, said the city is trying to address the most recent source of pollution. He said two stormwater pumps operate along the river downtown, one near the railroad tracks west of Andrews Avenue, the other off Northeast First Avenue behind Huizenga Plaza.

“The pumps help keep the downtown area dry by pumping water from the storm drains into the New River,” he said. “Unfortunately, if dirt, sand or mud find their way into the storm drain system, it can mix with the water and be pushed out into the New River when the pumps are turned on, creating a muddy plume.

“The city has building and environmental inspectors visiting construction sites in downtown to ensure that unauthorized materials are not being dumped into the storm drains and that proper protocols are being followed.”

Anyone with information on pollution incidents in the river is asked to call the county’s 24-hour complaint hotline at 954-519-1499.

AMBER MCNAMARA/COURTESY The milky plume — in contrast to a dark, murky plume in earlier weeks — spreads from Andrews Avenue to Third Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.