Boil water advisory lifted in the Florida Keys following 3 pipe breaks, officials say
The Florida Keys is no longer under a precautionary boil water notice almost a week after three water main pipes broke in the island chain.
“All water testing has successfully passed in all areas,” the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority said in a statement Tuesday night.
Between Wednesday and Saturday, three underground water pipes broke — all in the same general area of the Upper Keys between mile marker 84 and mile marker 92 on U.S. 1, called locally, the Overseas Highway.
The breaks caused water pressure drops all the way down to Key West. And the FKAA announced Monday that it depleted water reserves, asking customers to conserve water.
The problems with the pipes happened weeks after the FKAA is scheduled to begin a $42 million project to replace four miles of infrastructure between mile markers 79.5 and 84 in the Village of Islamorada.
The 40-year-old, 30-inch pipes will be replaced by new 36-inch pipes that are “cathodically” protected, meaning they are designed to protect against corrosion.
As part of the project, pipe that spans across Tea Table Relief and the Whale Harbor Bridge will be installed underwater “to protect them from high winds and storm surge,” the FKAA said in a statement.
The range of the replacement plan is from mile marker 79.5 on U.S. 1 to mile marker 84. It is scheduled to be complete in February 2025, according to the FKAA.
