MIAMI – A precautionary water advisory is in effect at several popular parks in Miami-Dade County while emergency repair work is made to a broken wastewater pipe leaking sewage.
Miami-Dade County issued the advisory Monday for Oleta River State Park, Greynolds Park, Haulover Inlet and Maule Lake.
Other affected areas include the beaches located about 500 feet to the north and south of Haulover Inlet, as well as the beach in Bal Harbour, just south of Haulover Inlet.
The Miami-Dade County Sewer and Water Department said a 48-inch wastewater pipe broke Sunday near 2500 NE 163rd St., so a contractor has been hired to install a bypass sewer line and connect it before and after the break points on the pipe, which is 12 feet beneath the water's surface.
As a result of the ongoing sewage spill, a precautionary advisory has been issued to avoid recreational water activities in the area, including swimming, fishing and boating.
County spokeswoman Jennifer Messemer-Skold said the department can't stop the flow of wastewater to the broken pipe "because it would impact sewer service to the cities of Sunny Isles Beach, Golden Beach the Eastern Shores community of North Miami Beach."
"These communities will not notice any disruption of service," she said.
While the repairs are being made, residents in northeast Miami-Dade County are being asked to conserve water to decrease the impact on the wastewater system.
"If you can forgo doing that extra load of laundry or using the dishwasher, or even limiting the showers that you're doing at the house, it would be a big benefit to not have all of that extra wastewater introduced to our system," Messemer-Skold said.
The repairs are expected to be completed Thursday night.
Meanwhile, a few traffic lanes are currently blocked for the repair work.
Workers told Local 10 News reporter Ian Margol that on Tuesday they were mostly just locating the problem and preparing for the repairs, but their work will continue 24 hours a day until the issue is resolved.