North Star Beach reopens

North Star Beach in the Back Bay reopened Wednesday morning after a sewage spill closed the area earlier this week, officials said.

At 11:15 a.m. officials with the Orange County Health Care Agency received information showing the contamination cleared, according to Larry Honeybourne of the OCHCA.

Sewage clears out of an area or dilutes when bacteria and organisms, accustom to living inside an animal’s intestines, are exposed to sunlight, temperature changes, natural die off and predation by other microorganisms, Honeybourne said.

The beach closed Monday morning after a line blocked by rags caused 1,000 gallons of sewage to spill, according to a OCHCA report.

“We closed the beach with a buffer zone in an abundance of caution,” Honeybourne said.

OCHCA tested North Star and the surrounding areas and found the water to meet state safety levels.

— Lauren Williams

Twitter: @lawilliams30