Sewage Spill Shuts Down A Stretch Of Laguna Beach Coast

A more than two-mile stretch of the Laguna Beach coast is closed after an estimated 97,000 -gallon raw sewage spill.

The open coastal area from Laguna Avenue to Blue Lagoon is shut down after a main sewer line broke in Laguna Beach, the Orange County Health Care Agency announced Wednesday.

The spill was shut down around 9 p.m. Tuesday night, and the maintenance repair has been completed, according to Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley.

These beaches are affected:

• Cleo Street Beach
• Bluebird Canyon
• Pearl Street Beach
• Victoria Beach
• Blue Lagoon Beach 

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Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said in a statement she is monitoring the situation to make sure officials protect public health and the beaches.

Foley is encouraging residents and visitors to stay out of the water. 

“Don't go on the beach,” she told LAist. “It's closed to water sports, as well as beach sports and recreation, because the water literally has E. coli, salmonella, all kinds of viruses — things that you would find in your toilet.”

The affected areas will stay closed for swimming, surfboarding, and other activities that put you in contact with the ocean until the water quality meets acceptable standards.

How do they test the water quality?

The O.C. Health Care Agency collects samples in ankle-deep water using a long pole with a sterile bottle attached to the end. The bottles are then placed into an ice chest for preservation with the time, date, weather conditions and collection location recorded on a log sheet.

The agency collects samples between one to five times a week along the OC coastline. The samples are analyzed in a lab for specific “indicator bacteria” that could point to pollution.

They are called indicator bacteria because they are relatively easy to collect and analyze, and could indicate harmful viruses, bacteria, or pathogens. Collecting the actual disease-causing organisms is difficult, according to the agency.

Foley said the agency will be testing the water around the sewage spill over the next two days with the hope that the contamination will clear up by the weekend. 

The affected area can reopen after two consecutive days of water samples meeting the acceptable standards, according to the agency.

For more information about O.C. ocean closures, you can call (714) 433-6400 or check their website.

If you need to report a sewage spill, you can call (714) 433-6419.