Health alert issued for multiple popular Palm Beach County waterways after sewage spill

A sewage line break spewing an average of two million gallons per day of wastewater has triggered a health alert from officials to avoid multiple canals and lakes including popular Lake Clarke and Lake Osborne.

The Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County said late Wednesday there was enough concern about high levels of bacteria spreading from the break to issue a no-swim advisory and ask that no water be pulled for irrigation from nine waterways including the C-51 canal between Lake Worth Beach and West Palm Beach.

Others include the L-10 and L-9 canals, Grassy Saw Lake, Keller Canal, and the canals between Waterway Drive and West Lake Drive, and between West Lake Drive and Pine Tree Lane.

The notice also urged caution at “other nearby water bodies connected” to those specifically listed.

Drinking water is not affected.

Fragile waterway in peril: Sewage line break near West Palm Beach fouls canal water that flows to the Lake Worth Lagoon

Department of Environmental Protection employees have been working at the break with staff from the City of Lake Worth Beach Utilities Department. A private contractor hit the 36-inch line April 9, causing a portion of the ground along Florida Mango Road near Garden Drive to collapse.

DEP Southeast District Director Sirena Davila said the agency is overseeing efforts by Lake Worth Beach Utilities to stop the spill as soon as possible “while minimizing impacts to the regions public health and natural resources.”

This is the second sewage spill in that area this year following a February wastewater line break in a Village of Palm Springs line.

Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Potential for high bacteria levels from sewage break force health alert