Indian Creek It is an artificial island on the Miami coast known for its multimillionaire residents and its extraordinary privacy. That has given him the nickname Billionaire Bunker. Figures like Jeff Bezos (Jeff Bezos, in fact, bought three mansions on the island and is building its main residence), Tom Brady, Ivanka Trump and even Julio Iglesias They have bought properties in this exclusive enclave.
The island is connected to the continent only by a small bridge guarded by its own police, which makes it one of the most closed and monitored communities in the United States. However, as highlighted in The local pressin this luxurious paradise where most mansions have an average of 10 bathrooms, no one has taken into account How to delete properly the waste they generate.
Millionaires in a Ciénaga. By not having sewerage infrastructure given the isolated character of the enclave, Indian Creek’s homes depend on individual septic tanks, located dangerously close to Bay of Biscay. This proximity has turned the graves into a constant source of pollution.
According to published The New York Timesa 2018 study already warned of the high pollution indices of these septic tanks due to the sewage leaks To the bay. These leaks not only affect Water health that surround the island, but also to marine ecosystems.
Neighbor, do you have a sewer left over? Given this situation, the Indian Creek government raised a possible solution: send its wastewater to the sewerage system of the neighboring town, Surfside, located on the other side of the bridge that communicates them with the mainland.
However, Surfside responded in a diplomatic but firm way. Connect to the sewerage system that have paid and maintained their neighbors has a cost: 10 million dollars. For his part, Indian Creek considered the petition as an act of “extortion” and decided to look for alternatives that would not imply paying the neighbors the 10 million dollars hitch rate.
The law of the sewer. One of these alternatives is to raise a claim to the government of the state of Florida since there is a state law that would force surfesides to accept the wastewater of its military neighbors to Eliminate septic tanks. According to that law, conveniently approved in June 2025, includes a provision that prohibits municipalities from blocking or charging for certain sewerage connections.
According to published he Miami Heraldthis measure would prevent localities such as Surfside to reject projects such as Indian Creek or impose connection tolls to their sewerage lines, although they directly affect their urban infrastructure.
If you use our sewers you are one of ours. In response, Surfside authorities raised a legal counterpart: if an acceptable agreement was not reached, they could contemplate the possibility of annexing Indian Creek to their municipality, so that both entities share fiscal and maintenance obligations.
According to surfeside leaders, the Urban growth and the environmental pressure generated by Indian Creek justifies a formal solution and a common responsibility. Both populations are communicated by a bridge, so all the traffic and services that the island of the Millionaires needs compulsively passes through the streets of Surfsis.
A private pipe. Rejecting the idea of annexation to Surfside, Indian Creek has designed an independent infrastructure project that consists in building its own sewerage system. This plan includes placing an underground pipe that would pass under the streets of Surfsis along one kilometer until reaching the Bay Harbor Islands sewerage network. In this way, the waste would leave the island without formalizing a connection with the system of its immediate neighbor.
Stephen J. Helfman, Indian Creek’s lawyer, assured to The New York Times that “the preliminary works and preparation works for the future sewerage line will begin next month.” Meanwhile, the mayor of Surfsis, Charles Burkett, who initially requested the 10 million dollars, was more conciliatory after knowing that the law prevents him from refusing to facilitate the construction of that new sewerage line. “We hope to work with Indian Creek to help them achieve their goals with the least possible impact for our residents,” Burkett said.
In Xataka | Billionaires prepare their mansions for apocalypse: luxury bunkers have become a trend
Image | Flickr (Smithsonian)
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings