Raw Sewage Spill Forces Closure of Sail Bay

All of Sail Bay in Mission Bay Park was closed Wednesday morning because of a massive raw sewage spill that was dumping 300 gallons per minute into the water from a ruptured main sewage line. The quarantine is expected to last at least one week.

The closure will also mean that Saturday’s San Diego Crew Classic will have to be moved to East Mission Bay.

According to Bob Ferrier, deputy director of the city Water and Sewer Services Utilities Department, the spill was reported shortly after midnight Wednesday and had been draining into the bay non-stop ever since. City utility crews worked around the clock Wednesday night trying to dig up the broken pipe and plug the spill, Ferrier said.

“This is by far the biggest spill in a while, simply because of the long duration of it,” Ferrier said.

The raw sewage was gushing out of a manhole cover at Reed Avenue and Gresham Street all day Wednesday and entered the bay by way of a storm drain four blocks away. Workers found the ruptured sewage line, at Haines Street and Pacific Beach Drive, after their truck fell through the weakened asphalt above the leak, which had eroded the earth below. The truck was damaged slightly, but there were no injuries.

County health officials said the quarantine extends from the North Ingraham Street Bridge to Santa Clara Point.

“As it appears right now, the bay will be closed for a minimum of nine days,” said Dr. Georgia Reaser, health officer for the San Diego County Health Services Department. “Our primary concern is public safety and health, and we are posting signs warning people to avoid the bay.”

Ferrier said the sewage, which flowed four blocks down Gresham Street to a storm drain on Graham Street, contaminated Gresham Street, Reed Avenue and Pacific Beach Drive, and will be cleaned up by this morning.

Utility crews have been working on the leak since 3 a.m. Wednesday trying to find the 2-foot-wide sewage pipe that is sunk 24 feet below the street’s surface. Ferrier said it is one of the main sewage lines for the Pacific Beach area and runs to the city’s sewage treatment plant.

More than 40,000 spectators are expected at Saturday’s Crew Classic, involving 1,400 athletes representing universities and rowing clubs across the nation.

Bill Robinson, president of the Crew Classic, said Wednesday that the event will be held in East Mission Bay, alongside the Hilton Hotel.

“We don’t want to jeopardize anyone’s health--the rowers’ or the crowd’s,” Robinson said.

UC San Diego, San Diego State University, the University of San Diego, and the Mission Bay Rowing Assn. will be among the entries. Others include Harvard, Yale, UC Berkeley, the University of Washington and USC.

Because of the slow-moving currents in the bay, the sewage is expected to remain in the quarantined area, if the leak is repaired soon, Reaser said. After the spill is plugged, the water must be tested and determined safe for four consecutive days before the quarantine can be lifted.

“It’s almost impossible to clean up all that sewage in the bay,” Reaser said. “But the action of the tides usually will clean it out in a matter of days.”