Pipe breaks over the last week left residents from the Upper Keys south to Big Pine Key with low water pressure or no water at all.
An advisory issued by the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority on the morning of May 21 detailed a leak involving a 30-inch transmission line on the Old Highway in Islamorada, near Coral Harbour Club at MM 88. The break occurred around 6 a.m. as water spurted up from the location of the break, inundating a portion of the road in front of the condo club.
Crews placed cones to block off the area as more FKAA trucks arrived at the scene roughly an hour later for repairs on the transmission line, which lasted for the better part of a day. Repairs continued into the morning of May 22.
An alert went out around 6 a.m. on May 22 urging residents to conserve water following the report of a second leak on the transmission line, located at the north end of the weigh station MM 86, that further reduced water storage tanks. FKAA crews completed repairs roughly two-and-a-half hours later around 9 a.m., but noted that restoration of water service to the Keys would take several more hours.
On May 25, FKAA crews were repairing road shoulder and pavement damage caused by the leak at MM 86.
Major leaks witnessed over the last week, notably the break on Old Highway, were among the few seen since the early 2000s.
“We’ve had other leaks, but the last time we had similar, critical circumstances was in 2006,” said Julie Cheon, FKAA public information officer. “We have some aging pipe in that area and we are expanding our capital improvement plan to include this area.”
FKAA is the water service provider for the Florida Keys, supplying potable water to all residents while providing reclaimed water and wastewater services in select areas. About 17 million gallons of drinking water are supplied daily through 1,086 miles of pipe, 26 pumping stations and 45 bridge crossings.
The primary water supply for FKAA is the Biscayne Aquifer. Supplementing it is the Floridan Aquifer, which is a deeper, more brackish aquifer. In emergency situations, the FKAA has the capability of using two seawater plants, one in Marathon and one on Stock Island, to supply additional water.
Pipe breaks weren’t only seen in Islamorada. FKAA issued another water advisory on May 25 at MM 112 in Key Largo, as crews repaired a 4-inch main leak. Repairs took two to three hours. Residents on Hazel Street, Morris Avenue and Morris Lane experience low water pressure or none at all.
