Broken Pipe Sends Sewage Into S.D. River

A sewer line in Kensington ruptured Friday, spilling thousands of gallons of sludge into the San Diego River and causing health officials to cordon off the stream where it flows through Mission Valley and Ocean Beach.

The break occurred about 10 a.m. in the 4800 block of Fairmount Avenue, between Montezuma Road and Aldine Drive, and was sending about 50 gallons a minute onto the avenue and into a sewage drain that leads to the river, city and county health officials said. There were no traffic problems. City crews repaired the break by 5:30 p.m.

“It is a substantial flow,” John Melbourn, county public health engineer, said. “I understand it was a blowout, out of the side of the pipe.”

By today, about 24,000 gallons of sewage will have ended up in the ocean, city officials estimate.

Melbourn said water utilities and health officials had posted black-and-orange “Keep Out” signs along the river from Texas Street to Fashion Valley Road and in the Ocean Beach area.

The sewage contains disease-causing organisms that could be a serious health hazard if swallowed, officials said, noting that fishing in the San Diego River is common in the Mission Valley area.

“There is a potential adverse health impact. The worry is whether somebody swallows or ingests it,” Melbourn said, adding that severe cases of infectious hepatitis and gastrointestinal disorders could occur.

Yvonne Rehg, spokeswoman for the city’s Water Utilities Department, said Dog Beach, at the northwestern tip of Ocean Beach, is off limits to swimmers. Rehg said the sewage was still making its way downriver and was likely to end up at the beach Friday night.

Melbourn said that the 15-inch sewer pipeline may have ruptured because of its age or vandalism, and officials are investigating the cause of the spill.

Larry Aker, manager for the County Hazardous Materials Management Program, said health officials will conduct tests Tuesday to verify the coliform bacteria count in the river and at Dog Beach, and will determine if a river and ocean quarantine is necessary.

Aker said the test must wait until Tuesday because it will take about 48 hours for the sewage to fully discharge into the ocean.