Sewage flow halted after pipe break
Residents warned to stay away from affected areas
The fix for Fort Lauderdale’s latest sewage spill near the Galleria mall was in place by 3:45 a.m. Sunday, but the stench remained in the air hours later.
Toxic sewage began spewing into the Middle River near Bayview Drive and Sunrise Boulevard when a 42-inch cast-iron pipe broke about 8:30 a.m. Thursday. Crews working past midnight on Sunday managed to put a bypass line in place to stop the flow of sewage.
The pipe break at George English Park is the seventh in seven weeks for a city dealing with a crumbling network of aging pipes.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis has warned residents more breaks are on the way until the aging pipes can be lined or replaced.
The city has sent out repeated advisories since Thursday warning people to stay out of the waterways near the spill. On Saturday night, Fort Lauderdale expanded the boundaries of the precautionary advisory to include neighboring Wilton Manors based on the results of water quality testing.
The boundaries of the advisory extend from Oakland Park Boulevard on the north to the New River east of Victoria Park Road, and from the Intracoastal Waterway and adjacent canals on the east to Victoria Park Road and all the way west to Interstate 95 in Wilton Manors.
People who swim, fish, jet-ski, paddle board, kayak and canoe in the affected waterways risk infection, including contracting Hepatitis A and parasites.
Crews are conducting water quality testing at 13 sample points in the waterway in the vicinity of George English Park, city officials say.
George English Lake and the boat ramp will remain closed until it’s safe to go back in the water. The playground, tennis courts, and basketball courts in George
English Park remain open.
City officials provided an update Sunday. Here are the key takeaways:
Repair work
About 3:45 a.m., the bypass line was installed and the flow of sewage was diverted around the damaged section of pipe and into the bypass pipe.
The bypass line is functioning properly and sewage is no longer spilling from the pipe into George English Lake and the Middle River.
Bayview Drive between Sunrise Boulevard and Northeast 11th Court was closed after the spill but was reopened by 1 p.m. Sunday.
An environmental contractor is conducting disinfection and cleanup work in the affected area, but tanker and vacuum truck operations are being demobilized.
Work will begin on repairs to the damaged portion of the 42-inch pipe. Crews plan to dig an access pit around the pipe so it can be cut out, removed and replaced with a new section.
Cleaning the waterways
Eight aerators are operating in George English Lake and the Middle River to help increase oxygen levels in the water and control odor.
Crews continue to remove dead fish and debris from George English Lake and the Middle River.
Turbidity curtains have been installed in George English Lake and in the Middle River on the north and south sides of the Sunrise Boulevard Bridge to help capture debris.