Most of Beach Is Reopened : Environment: Only half a mile of shoreline remains closed in the wake of sewage spill. Bradley joins call for routine closures after storms.

County health officials on Wednesday reopened all but half a mile of coastline shut down last weekend when nearly 8 million gallons of minimally treated sewage flowed into Santa Monica Bay during heavy storms.

Meanwhile, Mayor Tom Bradley joined a growing chorus of environmentalists and government officials suggesting that Santa Monica Bay beaches be routinely closed following rainstorms because of contamination from another source: storm drain runoff.

In a strongly worded letter to county Board of Supervisors Chairman Pete Schabarum, the mayor wrote that county health officials should send “a clear message” to the public that “no one should swim in Santa Monica Bay after a rainstorm--period.”

“(There are) more than 60 storm drains between (the) county line and the Palos Verdes Peninsula,” Bradley wrote. “Through these storm drains flow a veritable witches’ brew of oil and grease, organic compounds, bacteria, litter and residues of toxic heavy metals that originate on streets and property.”

The county is in charge of beaches and its health officials determine when and if beaches are to be closed.

A spokesman for Schabarum said Wednesday afternoon that the supervisor had not yet seen Bradley’s letter. County health officials said that their decisions to open and close beaches are based strictly on the results of coliform tests which show the presence of bacteria caused primarily by sewage spills. The government-funded Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project is currently studying the development of a storm drain testing program--to supplement the coliform testing.

In all, 18 miles of shoreline from Topanga Beach to Palos Verdes Estates was closed over the weekend as a result of the city sewage overflow, which officials blamed on antiquated pipes that flooded with rainwater.

On Tuesday, county health officials had reopened all but four miles of beach in the vicinity of Ballona Creek, where the sewage, treated only with chlorine, spilled into the bay.

Based on additional coliform lab tests, officials Wednesday reopened all but a half-mile section of Dockweiler Beach in the Playa Del Rey area, from Sandpiper Street north to Ballona Creek.

At a Los Angeles Board of Public Works meeting Wednesday morning, recently appointed Commissioner Felicia Marcus said that more discussions are anticipated with the county in an effort to have Santa Monica Bay beaches routinely closed after following storms.

Bradley, in his letter, urged the county, with city assistance, to “post signs year-round at every beach, explaining the impact of storm water pollution on swimmers.”

Marcus and other commissioners Wednesday praised city sewage treatment employees for their handling of the sewage crisis.