A gut-wrenching amount of toxic sewage spilled into Fort Lauderdale waterways in the past two months alone: 211.6 million gallons. Fort Lauderdale fisherman Jeff Maggio hasn’t been to George English Park since sewage began spewing out of a pipe buried underwater on Jan. 30.
“All the fish are dead there,” he said Sunday. “Everything’s just gone. Crabs, oysters, barnacles and plankton. Crews have been out there picking up hundreds of fish out of the water so it doesn’t look like holy hell. Manatees are swimming in that poison.”
Mayor Dean Trantalis called news of the pollution devastating but warned it may take months for things to return to normal.
He is now asking for help from federal and state agencies at the commission’s meeting on Tuesday.
“Considering the extent of this pollution, we should be more than eligible for state and federal assistance,” he said. “We cannot suffer this burden alone.”
RELATED: Finally, we know how much sewage spilled in Fort Lauderdale: 126.9 million gallons »
The spills fouled the Tarpon River, the Himmarshee Canal and streets in three neighborhoods: Rio Vista, Victoria Park and Coral Ridge.
Another 79.3 million gallons spilled into George English Lake over a 10-day period that began on Jan. 30 and ended on Feb. 8, Fort Lauderdale officials said in a report to the state Department of Environmental Protection. An additional 5.4 million gallons flooded streets near George English Park right across from the popular Galleria mall on Sunrise Boulevard
The 10-day spill began on Jan. 30 when an aging 42-inch sewer pipe that runs under the Middle River began spewing sewage near George English Park and the Galleria mall.
City officials thought they’d stopped the spill three days later when a bypass line was put in place before dawn. But that afternoon, a diver discovered a section of the pipe was still leaking sewage into George English Lake. Crews were finally able to stop the leak on Feb. 8.
Resident Kevin Cochrane usually kayaks during the summer months, but now says he has no intention of hitting the water this year.
“All the fish are dead there,” he said Sunday. “Everything’s just gone. Crabs, oysters, barnacles and plankton. Crews have been out there picking up hundreds of fish out of the water so it doesn’t look like holy hell. Manatees are swimming in that poison.”
Mayor Dean Trantalis called news of the pollution devastating but warned it may take months for things to return to normal.
He is now asking for help from federal and state agencies at the commission’s meeting on Tuesday.
“Considering the extent of this pollution, we should be more than eligible for state and federal assistance,” he said. “We cannot suffer this burden alone.”
RELATED: Finally, we know how much sewage spilled in Fort Lauderdale: 126.9 million gallons »
The spills fouled the Tarpon River, the Himmarshee Canal and streets in three neighborhoods: Rio Vista, Victoria Park and Coral Ridge.
Another 79.3 million gallons spilled into George English Lake over a 10-day period that began on Jan. 30 and ended on Feb. 8, Fort Lauderdale officials said in a report to the state Department of Environmental Protection. An additional 5.4 million gallons flooded streets near George English Park right across from the popular Galleria mall on Sunrise Boulevard
The 10-day spill began on Jan. 30 when an aging 42-inch sewer pipe that runs under the Middle River began spewing sewage near George English Park and the Galleria mall.
City officials thought they’d stopped the spill three days later when a bypass line was put in place before dawn. But that afternoon, a diver discovered a section of the pipe was still leaking sewage into George English Lake. Crews were finally able to stop the leak on Feb. 8.
Resident Kevin Cochrane usually kayaks during the summer months, but now says he has no intention of hitting the water this year.
