Just months after a 60-year-old pipe ruptured near the beach, Miami is faced with even more sewer problems. According to Miami Today, a nearly 4-mile-long pipe carrying raw sewage is in danger of bursting.
"We're facing a catastrophic event if this happens," the director of the Miami-Dade County Water and Sewer Department told the source. "I don't know when it's going to blow … [but] we can't afford any delay."
This massive sewer repair project is facing costs of $55 million since the pipe runs along Miami Beach's sewer main. A densely populated and tourist-filled area, a sewer leak of this magnitude could cause the city to lose money in an area of Miami that generates considerable revenue for the local economy.
City commissioners agreed on a 9-2 vote to begin replacing the pipe with expectations of the public works project to be completed in 2013. By implementing accurate leak detection, Miami likely prevented what could have been a sewage disaster. In large cities like Miami, frequent sewer inspections are key to preventing damage to sewer lines.
