Sewage spill keeps ocean stretch closed

Part of Newport Harbor between the Balboa Bay Club and Arbor Drive will remain closed until at least this afternoon, after county health officials said bacteria samples taken over the weekend showed that the water was unsafe.

The Orange County Health Care Agency shut down a part of the Lido Channel between the Balboa Bay Club’s “B” dock and Arbor Drive in Newport Bay after reporting Friday that a 250-gallon sewage spill had contaminated the water.

The sewage was going through pipes from a home to the pipes under Pacific Coast Highway when a pump failed and caused the sewage to gush out of a manhole near the Balboa Bay Club and into the water, officials said.

The club’s beach and two adjacent cove beaches were closed through the weekend.

Samples taken Monday should show county officials by this afternoon whether they can open all or part of the area for swimmers and divers.

— Joseph Serna