CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Sewage Spill Fouls Streets, Beachfront

A 250,000-gallon sewage spill at a regional treatment plant flooded several streets and prompted authorities to quarantine an eight-mile stretch of beachfront. Officials at the Fountain Valley Treatment Plant said they were not sure what caused sewage to begin backing up, sending effluent spewing out of manholes on nearby streets. All systems at the plant were back to normal within an hour, but sewage had spilled into storm drains leading to the Santa Ana River and reached the sea. “The good news is there’s no sewage spilling right now,” said Blake Anderson, technical services director for the Sanitation District of Orange County. “But we’re baffled. We’re still trying to locate the cause.” County health officials shut down a stretch of beach between the Newport Pier and Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach. A spokesman for the Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa said sewage spewed out of floor drains in the basement, which houses dressing rooms, but there was no damage to costumes.