LTC 191-2013 County 60-inch By-passm MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
LTC; 191-2013 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and embers the City Commission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manage
DATE: May 31, 2013
SUBJECT: County 60 -inch By -pass Force ain Construction
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to provide you with information on the Miami -Dade
County Water and Sewer Department (WASD) 60 -inch emergency by -pass force main
construction activities. From Sunday, June 2 nd at 10:00 pm through Thursday morning, June 6th
WASD will be "hot" tapping into the existing sanitary sewer force main.
BACKGROUND
As discussed in previous LTC's, the Army Corps of Engineers will be dredging Government Cut
to allow the new super post - panamax vessels access to the seaport. In advance of the
dredging, WASD is installing a new 60 -inch wastewater force main under the Government Cut
navigation channel that will replace the existing force main that is too shallow for the proposed
depth of Government Cut.
The new force main was proposed to reconnect to the existing force main at Fisher Island and
at a shaft in the water southeast of the Miami Beach Marina. The construction methodology
called for the contractor to expose and support the 54 -inch main and to install a by -pass through
a "hot" tap, connecting the by -pass to the 54 -inch force main while sewage is flowing through it.
However, while assessing the condition of the existing force main, WASD found several
sections upstream of the proposed "hot" tap location that were in danger of failing. As a result of
this finding, WASD constructed a 60 -inch diameter force main from the shaft adjacent to the
marina to a shaft in South Pointe Park, which then extends north on Washington Avenue and
west on Commerce Street to the existing force main on Alton Road (See attachment).
ANALYSIS
For several months, WASD, the contractor, and the City have been preparing the plan for "hot"
tapping the force main. At a meeting this morning, they reviewed the weather forecast, the tides,
and other factors affecting the proposed operation and made the decision to move forward with
this phase of the work.
Beginning Sunday, June 2 nd at 10:00 pm, WASD will commence the tapping operation of the
existing force main on Fisher Island. That work is scheduled to end Tuesday morning. The
contractor then plans to begin the Miami Beach tapping on Tuesday night, June 4 with
th
continuous activity until completion on Thursday morning, June 6
County 60 -inch By -pass Force Main Construction
May 31, 2013
Page 2 of 2
During this time, the MOT plan is proposed to remain the same as it is now. The current MOT is
as follows: South of 1 St Street, Alton Road is closed to northbound traffic and one southbound
lane is closed. Westbound traffic on South Pointe Drive is detouring to Washington Avenue and
1 st Street. The western end of Commerce Street is closed to all traffic, but access to Joe's
parking lot is not impacted.
The WASD PIO is creating a press release and sending emails to the residents south of 5th
Street to explain the MOT and hours of work.
Per the plan developed between WASD and Miami Beach Public Works, the City has begun
pumping its sanitary sewer wet wells down and has advised its satellite cities to do the same, so
that it can refrain from pumping as much as possible during the tapping. In addition, the City will
be present at both the Fisher Island and Miami Beach tap locations to coordinate the operation
of the lift stations and to respond to any emergencies.
EMERGENCY SPILL CONTROL PLAN
In the case of a controllable spill, WASD will pump the wastewater into the new force main with
emergency by -pass pumps. In the case of a catastrophic spill, the plan is to reverse the flow
and discharge to the ocean outfall on 74 Street.
In preparation for a catastrophic failure, WASD and Miami Beach Public Works crews
conducted a dry run of emergency procedures (valve closures, notifications, etc.) on May 17
Should the activation of the ocean outfall be necessary, WASD will also have a mobile sodium
hypochlorite (bleach) injection system available at 74 and Ocean Terrace to provide
disinfection.
Should you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Attachment:
WASD Construction Phasing
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