It’s never a good time to have sewage flowing through the streets. But three back-to-back sewer main breaks have cast a toxic and smelly shadow over Fort Lauderdale’s Rio Vista neighborhood at one of the worst times ever — right before the holidays.
A river of gag-inducing sewage flowed for nine days after the first break on Dec. 10, fouling up streets, yards, Christmas decorations and the Tarpon River. Then on Friday, two days after a repair stopped the gushing, the same monster 54-inch pipe ruptured in another spot a block away, sending more sludge into the river, streets and a neighborhood park. The next day a third break occurred in the same sewer line at the bottom of the Himmarshee Canal.
Crews are working around the clock to make repairs needed to funnel the toxic sludge back into the system, but the smell has infiltrated several homes.
Read more at the Sun Sentinel.
