The Fix Is In For Smelly Miami Beach Sewer Breach

MIAMI BEACH (CBS4) - The city of Miami Beach said late Thursday that the smelly breach in a main sewer line has been repaired, finally.

"Temporary work has been completed on the wastewater line at Harding Avenue and 71 Street, Miami Beach,"said Miami Beach spokesperson Nanette Rodriguez, in a statement Thursday. "Crews are now testing the line as pumps from neighboring communities are turned on slowly."

At 5 PM, crews were covering the sewer line with the temporary fix.

It was the second time Thursday that crews thought they had things under control.

After a day of repair work city workers thought their temporary repair would hold until a joint in the spliced pipe it sprung another leak Thursday morning, and it was back to square one.

The pipe, which typically carries about four million gallons of raw sewage a day to a waste treatment plant, was shut down again and the waste water was bubbling out of it into storm drains.

Crews drained an excavation hole in the intersection to re-access the pipe to re-address the problem. That fix appears to have worked.

Wednesday morning a 10 foot section of the 24 inch pipe ruptured at the intersection of 71st Street and Harding Avenue; it damaged the road and sent flood like rivers of waste water down nearby roads.

"The street blew up like a balloon and then an edge of it popped up like six feet," said John Wiesniewski. "It looked Niagra Falls in reverse."

For residents and business owners in the area they will just have to deal with more than just the foul smell.

The city's Public Works department re-routed traffic in the area and businesses like the Buenos Aires Café suffered.

"They don't know where to park," said Rian Soliz "There's no money coming in."

On Miami Beach, some residents who live near the spill were angry to think of what they might have walked through.

"I think it's a shame that the city cannot take care of this," said Eduardo Tartarini. "They are not doing a good job"

"We are trying to clean up the area and get it back into business as soon as possible," said Rodriguez.

As she spoke, crews were washing and brushing the nearby street and sidewalk with chlorinated water.

Residents and visitors are being asked to minimize flow of waste water by pouring stuff down the drain and flushing toilets as little as possible in an area north of the break including Bal Harbour, North Bay Village, Bay Harbour Islands, Surfside and northern areas of Miami Beach. Those cities have been able to turn off their pumps. Waste water in those neighboring cities is being hauled directly to the Miami-Dade County treatment plant using 6,000 gallon tanker trucks.

City officials have said they don't believe the break is a sign of a major problem. They said the city has spent millions over the years on improvements to the water and sewage systems.

Recognizing the need to replace crumbling infrastructure, North Bay Village is using federal stimulus money to build its own, state of the art sewer main to the mainland.

"We have to," said North Bay Village Public Works director Samuel Zamacona, Jr. "It is either look forward or sink into a sewage-filled Biscayne Bay.

Zamacona said cities, states and counties must be more "pro-active" in replacing and repairing aging, decaying infrastructure of all sorts.

This break does NOT affect drinking water usage; just the disposal of it. Water is safe to drink.

As soon as this main line is back in service, Rodriguez said the intersection will remain closed for a road repairs which may take a couple of days.

The Miami-Dade Health Department and Environmental Resources Management continue to monitor water quality. As a precaution, DERM has issued a precautionary swimming advisory for eastern Biscayne Bay from 88 to 57 streets.

The intersection will likely remain closed for a few more days until the road has been repaved.