Blocked sewage line closes harbour

Bryce Alderton

Portions of Huntington Harbour remain closed to swimming and diving

after a 1,500-gallon sewage spill caused by grease blocking a sewer line,

said officials at the Orange County Health Care Agency Wednesday.

The health care agency closed areas at Sunset Aquatic Park and

Portofino Cove Monday to all water-contact sports until the results of

water quality monitoring meet acceptable standards.

The blocked sewer line originated from a private property sewage

collection system in a strip mall at the intersection of Springdale

Street and Bolsa Avenue, said Larry Honeybourne with the health care

agency.

“The line blockage was caused by grease backing up in an on-site

sewage collection system,” Honeybourne said. “Two sewer lines apparently

converged together. Sewage came up through a manhole in the parking lot,

flowed into a gutter and into the Bolsa Chica Flood Control Channel.”

Hazardous material crews from the Huntington Beach Fire Department

responded and managed to stop some of the sewage before it entered the

flood control channel, Honeybourne said. Health care agency officials

received notice of the spill Monday morning but they’ve been told by

unidentified sources that the spill could have began as early as Friday,

Honeybourne said.

“I don’t know why someone didn’t report it then if it was happening,”

Honeybourne said. “Private property owners have a legal obligation to

report these incidents.”

The health care agency mailed out 14,000 flyers before Christmas to

restaurants, homeowners’ associations, hotels and motels in Orange County

about the legal ramifications of not reporting potential sewage leaks,

Honeybourne said.

“We are seeing more reporting of these things recently,” he said.