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Miami Beach Fixes One Broken Sewer Line. Two More To Go.

Bibi Andrade
A North Beach resident photographed the aftermath of sewer line breaks that released at least 875,000 gallons of sewage in Miami Beach this week.

A 42-inch sewer pipe that burst in Miami Beach earlier this week, triggering breaks in two more lines, has been repaired.

City officials said the line along Michigan Avenue was fixed Friday and would be back in service by the end of the day. Contractors are still working on smaller breaks along Pine Tree Drive and Harding Avenue, spokeswoman Melissa Berthier said in an email.

A drilling contractor hit the 42-inch pipe about 11:30 p.m. Monday. But the line was not shut down until about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, allowing an estimated 875,000 gallons of raw sewage to flow into roads and nearby storm drains and waterways, according to a report the city filed with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The city has issued warnings to avoid waters on the city’s bay side.

Berthier said the city has not yet determined how much sewage spilled from the two subsequent breaks. The second occurred about 2 a.m. and the third at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. In its FDEP report hours later, city officials said discharges from the last break were ongoing at 4:40 p.m. Thursday.

The city is asking residents in Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach and Bay Harbour Village to reduce water use to avoid putting more stress on the system.

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Jenny Staletovich is WLRN's Environment Editor. She has been a journalist working in Florida for nearly 20 years. Contact Jenny at jstaletovich@wlrnnews.org
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