Rivers Of Waste Flood Hollywood Streets

HOLLYWOOD (CBSMiami) – Crews are working to clean up a massive sewage spill in Hollywood.

It happened near Taft Street between Park Road and Interstate 95 Wednesday morning.   Crews spent the Wednesday evening digging into the ground to get a closer look at the broken line.   They had to wait until late at night when as few people as possible are using water.  The street is covered with raw sewage and most people in the area said the smell is overwhelming.

The sewage hasn't stopped pouring all day and is expected to continue into tomorrow.

Baseball fields and backyards are filled with the sewage.

Darryl Logan lives nearby and says he got the first whiff of the awful odor before nine Wednesday morning.

"It was just a little pungent smell as the day progressed, ten, eleven o'clock, it just started getting more and more nauseating," said Logan.

Sewage is spewing from the main sewer line connecting Hollywood, Pembroke Pines and other parts of Broward to the wastewater treatment plant. The city says pressure in the sewer line built up and caused the break while crews were doing construction and building an additional sewer line.

City spokesperson Raelin Storey said the city "is in the process right now of putting in another line so that if we [the city], were to ever have a situation like this, we would have this other line to divert flows to."

So far, the only place for the sewage to go is a canal. The city will likely face fines from the Department of Environmental Protection, but says there are no other options as long as people continue to use water.

Once the flow is controlled, a disinfectant will be used to clear the smell.

The families most affected by the sewage were given hotels for the night.

The city has set up a hotline for residents 954- 921-3046.