Winds Block Check on Leaking Sewage Near Carlsbad Beach

High winds that kicked up whitecaps along the Carlsbad coast Monday postponed testing of reported contamination that closed South Carlsbad beaches and a shellfish-harvesting firm in Agua Hedionda Lagoon.

Tests made after a leak in the ocean outfall pipe from the Encina Water Pollution Control Facility showed unusually high fecal coliform counts--usually associated with human waste--in the coastal lagoon, according to state and county health department reports.

Pat Wells, shellfish specialist for the state Department of Health Services, said he plans to conduct tests today to determine if the weeklong closure of a commercial shellfish farm, Seafarms West, in the lagoon will be lifted.

Seafarms was ordered to cease harvesting last week after tests showed high levels of coliform bacteria in the lagoon and in unharvested mussels at Seafarms.

Richard Glenn, owner-operator of Seafarms West, said the state tests, which were taken Nov. 15, a week after the sewage pipeline break, showed that coliform contamination in the shellfish and lagoon waters was seven times the acceptable rate.

Glenn received orders to close Nov. 19 from Wells, after the state official had been notified of the Encina outfall leak and of the extraordinarily high bacteria count in the lagoon.

“He (Wells) just put 2 and 2 together and figured that the Encina leak had caused the contamination,” Glenn explained. He added that, on that same day (Nov. 19), he had sent off a large shipment of shellfish to the East Coast, and state laboratory tests showed the mussels “were tip-top clean.”

Glenn said that he is losing about $4,000 a week in sales by the closure and plans to put in a claim against the Encina plant for his losses. He said he has about 170,000 pounds of mussels waiting to be harvested at his lagoon operation.

Wells also told state beach authorities last Friday to close the South Carlsbad surfing areas around the outfall because of possible contamination.

Denny Stoufer, state lifeguard supervisor for the La Costa district, said signs warning of contamination and tape restricting access to the water had been erected at the advice of county health authorities.

“I think that they are being very conservative in ordering the closure of the area around the outfall,” Stoufer said. “The break is a mile out in the ocean, and there is no sign of contamination, but we are obliged to post the area 600 feet on either side of the outfall as the county ordered.”

Rick Graff, general manager of the Encina plant, said that the leak was discovered by divers Nov. 8 during a routine inspection of the underwater pipeline.

“In my opinion, the leak is not responsible for any contamination near shore or in the lagoon,” Graff said. He said that Encina staff had been conducting tests along the shoreline almost daily and had found no elevated levels of contamination in the water.

Graff said the Encina board of directors will decide at its Wednesday meeting what to do about the leakage. A temporary repair can be accomplished in about two weeks, he said, but a permanent replacement of the seal that failed will take about 110 days.

Wells said that, when he receives the results of the tests today, he will be able to determine whether to order steps to clean up the contamination.