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.
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