New public health advisories are being issued a full six days after 20 million gallons of raw sewage broke from a pipe and spilled into Miami-Dade waterways.
The new warnings: Keep out of affected water, including your pets. And do not fish. The new warnings come as the head of the state’s health department in Miami-Dade County today toured the site of the broken pipe, which was capped 12 hours after it broke June 18.
These new warnings run concurrent to good news: NBC Miami has learned tests show the levels of sewage are lower than scientists would expect in such a massive spill and found primarily near the 79th Street Causeway and along the polluted 5-mile stretch of Biscayne Canal.
The Health Department’s emergency room monitoring system finds there are still no reports of people getting sick. Time, salt water and hot sun are killing the bacteria.
Local
"I want to make sure that people do not fish in these areas that still have he advisory up,” Lillian Rivera, the Health Department’s top administrator said. “And if they do have fish - if they've been fishing recently - I don't want them to eat the fish."
Rivera toured the site of the broken pipe in Miami Gardens. The pipe was sealed Saturday but some of the 20 million gallons of raw sewage remains in the five miles of canal where lots of people are still fishing and more than a few dead fish are floating to the surface.
So authorities are asking people not only to stop fishing but to report dead fish.
The Biscayne Canal winds through thousands of backyards without any pro-active outreach except for pink signs at the site of the pipe break on the opposite bank from the homes.
"I want them to make sure that they understand that the canal that's behind their homes, they basically stay out of them," said Rivera. "I told my staff 'get ready with your flyers and so forth and go door-to-door and make sure.'"
Rivera said she wishes she'd not waited so long to go see the canal personally.
"I should have gone earlier," she said, when asked about the slow response. "You're right. I should have gone earlier.
"Next time, I'm not waiting. Because there's nothing like seeing it up close and personal. It really isn't."
Rivera said the official response will be better for the next public health incident.
"Every one is unique,” she said of sewage spills. “And we learn from each one of them. And obviously you have to go back and look at your things that you could have done better, things that you can improve on."
What changes? Rivera wants relevant agencies to open a Unified Command Center as we've seen with the oil disaster. And she'd like the parks department to go tell swimmers to get out of the water - that was apparently not done at county beaches.
If you see dead fish in the Biscayne Canal or northern Biscayne Bay, authorities ask that you call 800-636-0511.
