LTC 511-2019 Wastewater Break at 5th Street and Michigan AvenueMIAMI BEACH
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Con vention Center Dri ve, Miami Beach , Florida 33139, www .miomibeochfl .gov
Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
Tel : 305-673-7010 , Fo x: 3 05-673-77?~
NO. LTC#
511-2019 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO : Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of the City Commission
FROM : Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE : August3, 2019
SUBJECT: Wastewater Break at 5th Street and Michigan Avenue
On Wednesday evening a private contractor working for the utility Crown Castle impacted a 54-inch
sanitary sewer main near the intersection of 5 Street and Michigan Avenue. Despite hitting the force main
twice, the contractor left the area without alerting anyone. This incident caused the release of wastewater
onto the streets and into Biscayne Bay. As part of the investigation of the incident, the city contacted
Crown Castle as they had a right-of-way permit for work in the area and their contractor confirmed that
they were responsible for the damage.
The city received reports of sewage around midnight on Wednesday and immediately began investigating
its source to stop the discharge . The spillage was confirmed stopped around 8 a.m. Thursday morning
when the impacted area was identified. In 2017, the city built a second large diameter sewage force main
on Euclid Avenue as a fail -safe. As a result of this addition, the team was able to redirect flows to the
Euclid pipeline -significantly reducing the amount of time the damage line leaked. Once stopped, the
city immediately began cleaning the area that was potent ially affected using three city contractors plus
city-owned trucks. These efforts prevented additional wastewater from reaching the bay.
Starting on Thursday, the city engaged PACE Analytical to collect water quality samples in the bay so
the city could determine the extent of the impacted waters. Ten samples were collected from Government
Cut north to 10 Street. While the city awaited the results, a precautionary swim advisory was issued for
the area. A precautionary swim advisory was also issued for the beach area around 1 Street in an
abundance of caution , while the Florida Department of Health (DOH) began sampling on the beachside.
Based on the results of the first day of sampling, high levels of bacteria were detected in all ten bay
sampling locations . As such, the city will be modifying the precautionary swim advisory on the bay to a
no swim advisory. Once the DOH provides the beach sample results, the precautionary swim advisory
for the beaches will be modified as needed. Samples will continue to be collected daily on the bay and
on the beach until they come back clean on two consecutive days and the swim advisory can be lifted .
We will continue to provide you and the public with regular updates as additional information becomes
available. Should you have any questions , please contact Roy Coley, Public Works Director, at
roycoley@miamibeachfl.gov or Elizabeth Wheaton, Environment &Sustainability Director, at
elizabethwheaton@miamibeachfl.gov.
ETC/SMT/RWC/ESW/MKW
Granado, Rafael
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Attachments:
Monserrat, Marcia
Saturday, August 03, 2019 11:59 AM
Mayor's Office; Morales, Jimmy; Granado, Rafael
LTC Wastewater Break 5th and Michigan.docx
LTC Wastewater Break 5th and Michigan.docx; A TTOOOOl.txt
Attached please find a LTC detailing the wastewater break that occurred late Wednesday and our sampling results.
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