Fort Lauderdale, the unwitting poster child of sewage spill disasters, got a big delivery this week.
The first shipment of 48-inch pipes that will be used to build a new sewer line has arrived.
Work will soon begin in Rio Vista, the first neighborhood hit by a tidal wave of sewage on Dec. 10, when a giant 54-inch pipe made of cast iron gave way to years of neglect.
In two months alone, Fort Lauderdale’s crumbling sewer pipes have spewed 211.6 million gallons of raw sewage into waterways and streets.
The catastrophe, a PR nightmare for the tourist-friendly city, has earned Fort Lauderdale the unenviable reputation as king of sewage spills, with the worst on record in Florida history.
State officials slapped the city with an $1.8 million fine on Tuesday and a demand that it be paid in full by the end of March.
Fort Lauderdale officials so far have said they do not know where they will find the money to pay the fine.
In the meantime, they are moving forward with a $65 million project to replace the main sewer line that had several breaks in December.
More than 2,300 feet of pipe, all lined up Thursday near the entrance of Holiday Park, is enough for less than half a mile of what will be a 7.5-mile project. The whole project needs 39,600 linear feet of pipe.
Two teams will install the pipe, one working from the north and one from the south until they meet in the middle.
“The work should be completed within 18 months, a very aggressive time schedule created by the city hiring two contractors to work from opposite ends of the project,” Mayor Dean Trantalis said. “Normally, such a project would take years to complete.”
The new line will run from the George T. Lohmeyer Wastewater Treatment Plant north to a wastewater lift station at the Coral Ridge Country Club. Once in place, it will become the city’s primary sewer line. The old cast-iron sewer main will be relined and used as a backup pipe in emergencies.
Crews are using underground directional drilling that allows pipes to be installed with minimal effect on streets and neighborhoods, city officials say.
But Fred Stresau, a resident of Rio Vista, says he’s worried residents might be alarmed by the harsh smell of diesel smoke, the deafening noise of generators needed to power the job and the cluster of construction trucks parked near homes at the installation site.
“The amount of equipment is overwhelming,” he said.
Roads will be torn up and traffic detoured, but most people understand that and are eager to see the project get underway, said Commissioner Heather Moraitis.
“They’re prepared to deal with any inconvenience,” she said. “We all realize we are at a crisis point. We have to do this. This is really important work and we all need to be patient.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4554
