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Major sewage spill forces closures along Laguna coast

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 31, 2008 at 5:19 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

In what is being described by Orange County health officials as the worst raw sewage spill in at least nine years, more than 500,000 gallons of effluent spewed into the street and the ocean Wednesday morning in Laguna Beach, prompting the closure of four miles of coastal waters.

Waters roughly two miles north and south of the spill, from Crescent Bay to Camel Point, near Aliso Beach, will remain closed for at least two days, authorities said.

“People can still use the beach and the sand; only the ocean is closed,” said Deanne Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Health Care Agency, which monitors ocean water quality.

Several streets were closed while repairs were made, and the city announced they would be hiring an independent firm to determine what went wrong.

Laguna Beach has spent more than $10 million on sewer system upgrades in recent years to prevent ruptures to its aging infrastructure, City Manager Ken Frank said. “We have one of the oldest sewer systems in the county,” Frank said. “We have a whole lineup of repairs, including a major renovation of this particular pump station. We just didn’t get there in time.”

The health care agency is testing water at 14 locations, and coastal waters will remained closed until bacteria counts return to acceptable levels.

Read more from the LA Times by clicking here.

Beaches will remain closed until at least this afternoon, according to this update story from the LA Times:

Four miles of fouled Orange County coastline will remain closed to swimmers through at least this afternoon after 580,000 gallons of raw sewage gushed from a Laguna Beach pump station early Wednesday, health officials said.

Beaches from Crescent Bay to Camel Point, two miles north and south of the spill, were contaminated with waste. The first results from 15 to 20 water samples taken Wednesday showed evidence of fecal contamination along the shore near Bluebird Canyon Drive, said Larry Honeybourne, program manager with the environmental division of the Orange County Health Care Agency. “We need a couple days’ worth of clean samples before we can open the locations,” Honeybourne said.

If bacteria levels remain unsafe, ocean water could remain off-limits through Saturday or later, he said.

More from the LA Times by clicking here.

October 31, 2008 · Filed Under Other Oceans & Beaches Stories

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