Sewage spill clears, beaches reopened

Surfers and swimmers were allowed back on the beach Thursday when county

officials deemed the waters safe from traces of a sewage spill earlier

this week.

The shoreline was closed Tuesday between Orange Street in Newport Beach

and Talbert Channel in Huntington Beach after about 5,000 gallons of

sewage flowed into the ocean near the Santa Ana River mouth. The cause

was a broken pipe at an Orange County Sanitation District pump house in

Costa Mesa.

County health officials conducted tests to determine contamination

levels. They said the spill cleared up after about 72 hours as a result

of dilution and natural breakdown of bacteria.

Although surfers lost a few days of good waves, no long-term damage was

expected to result from the spill.