Sewage Spills Mar Laguna’s Image - Waste: The city’s pristine reputation has been muddied, many fear, by the thousands of gallons of waste that have polluted the ocean after sewer system breakdowns in recent years.

Some call Laguna Beach the Monte Carlo of the California Riviera, a resort city that prides itself on progressive thought, a cast of colorful characters and a village-like atmosphere.

For many Laguna residents, in fact, it is a constant source of pride that their community seems so out of step with the relative blandness of surrounding Orange County. In a fast-growing area where development often emphasizes tract homes and malls, Laguna Beach has always managed to maintain its quirkiness and its bucolic setting.

Yet despite its efforts to preserve its pristine image, Laguna today is finding its reputation tainted by the very problems that it has tried so hard to avoid.

And more often than local residents like to admit, the problems involve a series of sewage spills that have dumped thousands of gallons of raw waste on the scenic beaches of this south county playground.

Most of the spills have been caused by breakdowns in the city’s sewer system. There have been more than a dozen spills in the last two years, many of them requiring temporary closure of some of Laguna’s most popular beaches, according to city records.

City officials recently agreed to spend $300,000 to install a telemetry system that will immediately alert officials of power failures at the 23 sewage pumping stations. They say most of the spills have been the result of power outages.

“Frankly, I don’t know what else we can do about (the sewage problem) except what we are already doing,” said Mayor Robert F. Gentry. “It’s a real concern of ours. I don’t care as much about our reputation as I do about the ocean.”

Whatever the causes, the specter of raw sewage spilled across the white sands of Laguna Beach has residents upset and businessmen worried that the multimillion-dollar tourist trade could be in jeopardy.

“In the future, people are going to look at coastal cities and decide where they are going to spend their time based on what’s left of the environment,” says Evan David, who owns a local design business. “They’ve all got 7-Elevens and yogurt shops but they don’t all have sewage.”

While some city officials maintain that too much has been made of the spills, others see it as a serious threat to the special reputation that Laguna Beach has acquired over the years as a city with sincere concerns about people and the environment.

It is Laguna, after all, that played host to a migration of hippies and flower children 20 years ago and has gained a worldwide reputation for its art festivals, vistas and tolerance of non-traditional life styles. And it is here, residents boast, that Hare Krishnas, conservative Republicans and homosexuals live side by side in harmony.

Life styles aside, all seem to agree that something must be done.

“It’s ridiculous,” said one resident, who would identify himself only as a city employee. “Laguna Beach is one of the richest cities in the world, and we have a sewer spill every week.”

“I feel like I have a film on me when I get out of the water,” added Laguna Beach chiropractor Garrett Andersen. “One of my friends got ill and got the runs after a spill.”

Businessmen fear the frequent spills have already begun to scare away the tourists. At stake, they say, are about 3 million visitors a year and millions of tourist dollars. “It’s terrible for business. People come flocking down here to the beach with their stuff and they leave cursing,” says Mick Rasley, who owns a silversmith shop on South Coast Highway. “They could stay and walk (around) the shops but they’re so mad, they leave.”

Earlier this month, a palm tree frond fell on a power line and shut off electricity at one pumping station. Fortunately, only 100 gallons of sewage overflowed and officials were able to stop it before it reached the water, said Terry Brandt, city director of municipal services.

But they haven’t always been so lucky.

In January, spills from pipes crossing beneath Aliso Creek dumped 170,000 gallons of sewage into the surf. In March, 300,000 gallons made its way to the surf. In June, more than 900,000 gallons hit the beaches.

Then, of course, there’s the smell.

“It smells like rotten eggs,” said Scott Young, 30, another resident, describing the beach after one spill. “I’m afraid to go in the water after one because I don’t want to get hepatitis or something.”

According to county health officials, water contaminated with sewage can cause stomach problems. They post the contaminated sections of beach with red-and-white signs when it is not safe to swim.

Swimmers “hassle us but we say, it’s purely your choice,” said Mike Dwinell, a lifeguard at Main Beach. “This is what you can get if you go in there. It’s an inconvenience but I wonder, where do these people think (waste) all goes?”

Cheryl Ryan, managing director of the local Chamber of Commerce, is one who says too much is being made of the spills.

“It doesn’t seem to discourage people from coming down here because the spills were made out to be more than they really were,” she said. “I think it would take a lot more than that to tarnish the city’s image.”

Meanwhile, sewage has been the topic of more than one bad joke lately.

“You can tell when the sewage is out there because the birds stay on the beach and won’t go in the water,” stockbroker Art Sonce said.