Comcast contractors hit water and gas lines in Miami Lakes within days, officials say
Comcast contractors have hit two underground utilities in Miami Lakes in recent days, including a water line break that caused the town’s main road to resemble a river, a driver to plunge into a gaping hole and brown water to come out of the pipes, according to officials.
Emergency repairs were completed Tuesday after thousands of gallons of drinking water spilled into Northwest 67th Avenue the day before, but town officials are worried this could become a worrisome trend if left unchecked.
Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid told the Miami Herald that Comcast contractors also hit a gas line Thursday. He did not say where it happened nor the name of the contractor.
“The contractor from this week and the contractor from last week were working for Comcast,” he said.
Cid said the town is setting up a meeting with Comcast officials “to prevent this from happening ever again.” A date is yet to be determined.
Who will pay for the repairs?
Both incidents have left people wondering who will foot the repair bill.
According to Jennifer Messemer-Skold, a spokeswoman with Miami-Dade County’s Water and Sewer Department, it is too soon to say who will pay for the water main repairs as the incident remains under investigation.
“If a private company were to be found liable for the water main break, that company would have to pay for the cost of the repairs,” she said.
Meanwhile, Cid said the town does not expect to pay anything out of pocket.
“Any restoration will definitely be the responsibility of Comcast,” he said.
A Comcast spokesman told the Herald that one of its contractors was installing new lines when the water main break occurred Monday evening.
“We take matters like these seriously and are working with our business partner to determine the cause of the incident,” the company said in an email. “We will determine appropriate next steps based on the outcome of our investigation.”
Update before I head to bed, but they have managed to remove the car, shut off water & are pumping remaining standing water off 67th street.
Still, what’s left behind is a 20-30 ft sinkhole that washed out both southbound road lanes. Not sure long that will take to repair. pic.twitter.com/zDjZm6C5nF— Philippe Papin (@pppapin) February 27, 2024
Car plunges into gaping hole
Around 5:30 p.m. Monday, county crews rushed to Miami Lakes to stop the water flow and begin making repairs, but by then a woman’s car fell into what she thought was a puddle while driving to work.
“Now, I missed my work,” Mary, who did not want to give her last name, told the Herald’s news partner CBS News Miami. “I’m screaming, I said, ‘Whoa,’ ” Mary told the TV station.
In a Facebook group, several mothers said they were bathing their kids when brown water started pouring from the pipes.
“This is disgusting!,” one mother said in a Facebook post. “Our water is brown!”
“(I) noticed the brown water while giving our baby a bath and I’m very concerned now,” another mother said on Facebook.
Crews took more than 12 hours to repair the 12-inch main break and repave the road, Messemer-Skold said. Northwest 67th Avenue was shut down in all directions from Main Street to New Barn Road from around 5:30 p.m. Monday until about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
A precautionary water boil notice has been issued for Truist Bank, 15101 NW 67th Ave, while the agency tests the quality of the water supply. If the water test results are acceptable for two days straight the notice could be lifted by Thursday.
“Everybody else in Miami Lakes is fine,” Messemer-Skold said.
How to avoid striking underground utilities
Hitting underground utilities while excavating is preventable, Messemer-Skold said.
Contractors can call the 811 Sunshine call center to have utility companies mark their lines, pipes or cables at a job site before starting any excavation.
