The BP oil spill isn't unique

It's the biggest, and most watched, but mini disasters occur every day, every where, all the time.

And, although they pass laws and make speeches, no one in power does a thing about it.

It wasn't tar balls that kept swimmers from Biscayne Bay on Saturday. It was raw sewage.

Twenty million gallons of it seeped into the bay overnight after a 72-inch sewage pipe on Northwest 18th Avenue and 157th Street burst around 7 p.m. Friday, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department said.

The sewage spilled into the Biscayne Canal for more than 12 hours before the pipe was capped around 7 a.m. Saturday morning, the department said.

Health officials issued a public advisory Saturday asking residents to stay away from swimming and recreational activities in the bay areas from the Julia Tuttle Causeway to the Oleta River Park.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/20/1690248/raw-sewage-spills-into-biscayne.html