FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Fort Lauderdale residents faced the fourth sewer main break in three weeks on Friday.
The flooding started about 7:30 a.m. when a 16-inch sewer line was damaged in the 1600 block of Northeast Fifth Street in Victoria Park.
According to Chaz Adams, the city spokesman, as of 1 p.m. workers had shut off the pump stations to stop the flow out and started to dig and expose the pipe break.
Repairs could last into the weekend, officials said.
After also warning of sewage contamination in the Rio Vista and Beverly Heights neighborhoods, city officials discouraged water-related activities such as swimming, fishing, jet-skiing, paddle-boarding, kayaking and canoeing in areas of Fort Lauderdale.
Officials are asking the public to avoid contact with water in the area of Southeast Ninth Street to the north, Southeast 11th Court to the south, Cordova Road and Tarpon River to the east and Southeast 10th Avenue and Federal Highway to the west.
The other area at risk for contamination is Broward Boulevard to the north, Poinciana Drive to the east, Southeast 15th Street to the south, and Southwest 18th Avenue to the west.
According to Adams, city crews are repairing a 54-inch sewer line along the north side of Virginia Young Park in Rio Vista and a 48-inch sewer line in the Himmarshee Canal in Beverly Heights.
Cliff Berry, Inc., a Fort Lauderdale-based environmental service, is working at Virginia Park and Hector Park, according to Adams.
Florida Department of Health officials also reported that water samples in the area of Hugh Taylor Birch State Park at 3109 E. Sunrise Blvd., showed bacteria linked to swimming-related gastroenteritis, an intestinal infection marked by diarrhea, fever and nausea.
For more information about the warning, call the city’s 24-hour Neighbor Call Center at 954-828-8000.
Proper hygiene tips
- Keep your children and pets away from standing water
- Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
- Wash your hands with soap and warm water.
- Keep fingernails short and clean and keep fingers away from the nose, mouth, eyes, and ears
- Keep a container or spray with a mix of 90% water and 10% household bleach to clean shoes to avoid contamination in the home