Seal Beach, Sunset Beach remain closed after New Year’s Eve sewage spill. (Scott Anderson/Patch Photo)NEWPORT BEACH, CA —Newport Beach remains under an ocean swimming advisory Monday after a sewage spill released 8.5 million gallons of untreated waste south of Long Beach Friday. As of Monday, Seal Beach and Sunset Beach remain closed to water activities. All Orange County beaches south of Sunset Beach remain under an ocean water warning due to high bacteria levels. On Friday, a collapsed sewage line near the Dominguez Channel led to a large-scale spill. By Saturday, the Orange County Health Care Agency declared that swimming was forbidden from Seal Beach’s Surfside Beach to Huntington Beach’s Sunset Beach.Find out what’s happening in Newport Beach-Corona Del Marwith free, real-time updates from Patch.Let’s go!Warning signs are posted for all Orange County beaches to the south, from Bolsa Chica to San Clemente State Beach. All Orange County beaches further south have been affected by the flow of bacteria into ocean water, encouraging the agency to launch ocean swimming advisories for shorelines to the south.Find out what’s happening in Newport Beach-Corona Del Marwith free, real-time updates from Patch.Let’s go!O.C. Beach Closures, Warnings, As Of Jan. 3, 2022 The exact amount of the spill remains in question, with estimates ranging from 2 million to 4 million gallons on the low end to as high as 8.5 million gallons of untreated sewage, according to health officials.
Health officials say that the beaches will not reopen for swimming, surfing, and other water-related activities until water quality levels meet acceptable standards.Sanitation crews worked in Los Angeles and Long Beach to clean up the impacted areas, officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties said. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn asked for a full investigation into how the sewage spill occurred.”A sewage spill of this magnitude is dangerous and unacceptable and we need to understand what happened,” Hahn wrote in a statement released Friday. “The recent storm undoubtedly contributed to the spill, but we need infrastructure that doesn’t fail when it rains. I am calling on L.A. County Sanitation Districts to do a full investigation into the cause of the spill and whether aging or faulty infrastructure was involved.” Information about Orange County ocean, bay and harbor postings and closures can be obtained by calling 714-433-6400 or www.OCBeachinfo.com.Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.ThankReply Share
