Four Miles of Beach Reopens After Spill
Lifeguards pulled down the warning signs from a four-mile stretch of Los Angeles County beaches Sunday morning after health officials judged the water safe enough for swimming. The beaches had been closed since Thursday as a precaution against a spill that poured thousands of gallons of raw sewage into the ocean.
Although overcast skies and 60-degree temperatures Sunday made for less than ideal beach conditions, county lifeguard Lt. Dick Heineman said as many as 20,000 people were expected at the reopened beaches between the pier in Venice and Grand Avenue near El Segundo.
Worst Spill This Year
The year’s worst spill happened near the intersection of Venice Boulevard and the Santa Monica Freeway. At some point, probably early last week, the cap burst on an overflow sewer line, said county health administrator Jack Petralia. An undetermined amount of raw sewage poured into Ballona Creek, which carried it into the ocean at Marina del Rey.
The Bureau of Sanitation is investigating what caused sewage to back up on the overflow line and why the cap did not hold.
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