FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Industrial divers were back in the water Sunday tackling a major sewage line break in the Himmarshee Canal.
“They’re digging out the pipe, circle seal should be good to go by the end of the night,” said Fort Lauderdale commissioner Ben Sorenson.
The 46-inch main is the third one to break in less than two weeks in the city if Fort Lauderdale, which has sent crews scrambling to make the urgent repairs.
The latest sewer pipe ruptured Saturday spewing more raw sewage into the canal.
Two other breaks in the nearby Rio Vista neighborhood have kept the city busy, one of the breaks has since been repaired but the work is still ongoing to fix the other pipe which broke after being pressurized during the initial repair.
Repair costs will be in the millions.
City officials say Fort Lauderdale has the capacity to handle the growth of high rise condos and homes but the sewer system lacks the structural integrity which is why hundreds of millions of dollars must be spent to quickly replace lines in the aging sewer.
“The reality is this sewer main should’ve been replaced years ago,” said Sorenson.