Shifting tides put Newport on alert

Stacy Brown

WEST NEWPORT-- The tide has shifted bacteria-contaminated water

toward Newport Beach, officials monitoring the situation said Thursday.

“The currents in the ocean have now shifted southwest toward Newport

Beach and (county workers) are on alert,” Councilman Tod Ridgeway said.

The contaminated water has forced the closure of four miles of

Huntington Beach, from its border with Newport past the city’s pier.

County health officials continued to try to find the source of the

contamination, which has eluded them for nearly two months.

Federal, state and local officials -- including Rep. Dana Rohrabacher

and county Supervisor Jim Silva -- gathered Thursday at the Huntington

Beach Pier to discuss the spreading contaminants.

With the currents shifting to the southwest, county Sanitation

Department workers are focused intensely on testing waters in West

Newport, Ridgeway said.

“There is no cause for alarm,” Ridgeway cautioned. “However, we now

know fecal chloroform levels are down, which means this is a long-term

thing.

“There is some concern about the currents,” Ridgeway said.

The councilman also speculated that a reason Newport Beach has so far

escaped the problems facing its northern neighbor is due in part to the

restrooms on the Huntington beaches. There are no such facilities in

Newport.