Huntington Harbour closure is lifted after county determines sewage spill didn’t reach the water

A day after closing much of Huntington Harbour to swimming after a sewage spill, Orange County health officials said Friday that the wastewater didn’t reach the Huntington Beach recreation areas and reopened the harbor before the Labor Day weekend.

After areas of Anaheim Bay, Sunset Aquatic Marina, Portofino Cove, Anderson Street Marina and Admiralty Drive were closed Thursday, lab results from the closed sites were deemed “all clean” Friday, according to Orange County Health Care Agency spokesman Anthony Martinez.

“There is no risk of contamination in the harbor or at any of the beaches,” Martinez said.

The incident, originating with a blocked sewage line in Stanton, resulted in wastewater escaping a manhole and flowing to a storm drain, the Health Care Agency said. The blockage was thought to have begun late Wednesday and was resolved at about 7 a.m. Thursday, officials said.

County officials updated the estimated volume of the spill at 49,000 gallons after initially pegging it at 60,000.

The wastewater reached a dirt-bottom flood control channel and stopped there, where municipal crews were able to clean it up. “It never made it past Katella Avenue” in Stanton, Martinez said.

“Given the volume of the spill and pathway to reach the harbor, it was best to just do a cautionary closure and make sure that people were safe,” he said.

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