FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A water pipe burst near Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale about three weeks ago. It was fixed within hours, but the residue was still polluting the water on Friday.
Usually, bacteria gets into the system, but workers flush it out and it’s cleared within a few days. Officials said that hasn’t worked because of the location of the pipe.
The residents of a three-block section that includes condominium buildings were upset after getting six boil water orders.
“Three weeks is a long time to boil your water for washing and doing dishes and cooking,” Jo Corliss said.
Alan Dodd, the city’s director of the Public Works Department, said on Friday crews were preparing a powerful chlorine injection.
“We have gone through a series of incremental measures to increase the pressure of the water, the area that we’ve been trying to flush out to get it out,” Dodd said.
The city was also providing free bottles of water. Dodd said it’s likely the cold weather in January was to blame for the broken pipe in the first place.
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