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Fort Lauderdale's Problematic Sewage System Gets An Update

A sewer main break in the parking lot of George English Park in June 2016 led to the closing down of George English Park.
Caitie Switalski
/
WLRN
A sewer main break in the parking lot of George English Park in June 2016 led to the closing down of George English Park.

Fort Lauderdale's troublesome, aging sewage system just got a major update, according to a new city report.  

 

A 30-inch force main--a main support sewage line--that runs underneath SW 2nd St. started to repeatedly break near the end of 2016. So, the Public Works Department's Go Big, Go Fast campaign started with an emergency declaration to replace the pipe at the end of September this year. After the damage, sewage trucks had to pump waste from one manhole to another to get the sewage to the city’s wastewater plant for treatment. 

But not anymore. The new force main is now in place--and it has backup pipes. 

The second phase of the the process, pressure testing the pipe, is scheduled to start on Dec. 18. The Fort Lauderdale Public Works Department expects to have the entire project completed by the end of May 2018. It’s costing the city $14.5 million dollars.

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Caitie Switalski is a rising senior at the University of Florida. She's worked for WFSU-FM in Tallahassee as an intern and reporter. When she's in Gainesville for school, Caitie is an anchor and producer for local Morning Edition content at WUFT-FM, as well as a digital editor for the station's website. Her favorite stories are politically driven, about how politicians, laws and policies effect local communities. Once she graduates with a dual degree in Journalism and English,Caitiehopes to make a career continuing to report and produce for NPR stations in the sunshine state. When she's not following what's happening with changing laws, you can catchCaitielounging in local coffee shops, at the beach, or watching Love Actually for the hundredth time.