Fort Lauderdale kicked off a new pilot program on Monday to improve the water quality of the Himmershee canal by repurposing technology that is usually used to clean aquariums.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – At the beginning of the year, given all the sewage spills in Fort Lauderdale last year, the city contacted Miami Waterkeeper, a nonprofit organization, to report on the city’s recreational water quality. Miami Waterkeeper tests for the Enterococcus, which is a fecal indicator bacteria associated with wastewater. On Jan. 14, Miami Waterkeeper warned the public there were high levels of bacteria at Lake Sylvia, Himmarshee Canal, Tarpon River, and Sweeting Park. The tweets🚨𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘🚨@FTLCityNewsWe detected high levels of bacteria at the following sites:• Himmarshee Canal• Tarpon River• Coontie Hatchee Park• Sweeting ParkWe will be retesting these sites and will keep you informed! pic.twitter.com/goAZ8OvCvU — Miami Waterkeeper (@MiamiWaterkpr) January 14, 2021The mapsSWEETING PARKCOONTIE HATCHEE PARKLAKE SYLVIATARPON RIVERHIMERSHEE CANAL

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Over a hundred Fort Lauderdale residents gathered inside the Rio Vista Community Church following four major sewer main breaks in the city. While the breaks have since been repaired, residents are concerned about possible health hazards after waterways like the Tarpon River, New River and the Himmarshee Canal, where contaminated with sewage. In the meeting, residents brought up the issue of signage, asking city commissioner Ben Sorensen and city manager Chris Lagerbloom for daily water quality alerts. With clean up efforts underway, residents also worry the current infrastructure won’t be able to handle the future building of family homes and apartment buildings. You know it is years of pipes that have just aged and now we are dealing with it,” said Lagerbloom.

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. “The reality is this sewer main should’ve been replaced years ago,” said Sorenson.