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.
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