Most Miami beaches reopen after sewage spill

A sign warns the beach is contaminated

June 29, 2000
Web posted at: 8:44 p.m. EDT (0044 GMT)

MIAMI (CNN) -- Most of the Miami area beaches closed because of a ruptured sewage pipeline were reopened Thursday, in plenty of time for the Fourth of July.

The Florida Department of Health has confirmed that water quality is normal for the South Florida shoreline from 163rd Street south to 94th Street, and from 54th Street South through Key Biscayne.

That includes most of the beaches from North Miami Beach to Key Biscayne, including trendy South Beach.

"The city of Miami Beach is thrilled that most of our beaches are open now for swimming to visitors and residents in time for the holiday," said Miami Beach Mayor Niesen Kasdin.

Swimming and fishing were banned along some 20 miles of beaches in the Miami area after a contractor drove a piling into the city's only sewage pipeline June 20.

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That line carries raw sewage from more than 100,000 residents in the Miami Beach area to the area sewage processing plant in Virginia Key, just southeast of Miami.

Until emergency workers were able to redirect the flow, over 25 million gallons of waste spilled into the bay each day.

Sewage was dumped two and a half miles from the shoreline as an alternative to using the ruptured pipe while it was being repaired.

Advisories are still in effect for beaches located between 94th Street and 54th Street South. The health department continues to test the rest of the beaches and will alert the public to any changes in current conditions.

Hotel and restaurant owners were thrilled with the news of the reopening.

" We're very happy that we are able to offer our guests the beach again now that they're open; we're celebrating, we couldn't be happier," said Lucy Thielen, a front desk clerk for the Beacon Hotel on Miami Beach's Ocean Drive.

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