Sewage Diluted, Doheny Beach Reopened

Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, part of which has been closed to surfers and swimmers for almost a week because of a 500,000-gallon spill of raw sewage, was reopened Wednesday afternoon by county health officials.

The waters were found free of contaminants after a series of tests, according to Steven K. Wong, assistant director of the county Health Care Agency’s environmental health division.

A 1,000-foot stretch of the popular beach next to Dana Point Harbor was declared unsafe July 7 after sewage, blocked by debris in a 12-inch pipeline, overflowed from a manhole in an open field near the Mission Viejo Mall.

The overflow was discovered at 11 a.m. that day, but sewer smells had been reported July 6. The overflow was halted within three hours, but it had apparently been going on for about 12 hours, according to Jim Smith, operations manager for the Moulton Niguel Water District, operators of the pipeline.

The effluent, which normally would have gone through the Southeast Regional Reclamation Authority plant in Dana Point for treatment, escaped by way of flood control channels and creeks to reach the ocean at the mouth of San Juan Creek, at Doheny Beach.

Contamination by raw sewage can cause diarrhea and hepatitis, according to health officials.

At first, 500 feet on each side of the creek mouth were declared off limits for water sports. By Friday, no visible trace of raw sewage was found, but the area remained closed for testing.

As the sewage was diluted, the closure was reduced to 250 feet on either side of the creek mouth, and finally to the creek mouth itself before the all-clear was given Wednesday.

The spill, though large, was about half as severe as one in Laguna Beach on May 21. A pumping station that closed down because of a power failure caused about 1 million gallons of raw sewage to spill into the ocean through an outfall line. Nearly a mile of beach was closed until it was diluted.