Treated Sewage Line Leak Closes Point Loma Coast : Environment: Break in main San Diego outfall pipe is spilling up to 3 million gallons of effluent a day.

A huge concrete pipe used to carry most of the county’s treated sewage from a treatment plant in Point Loma ruptured, depositing as much as 3 million gallons of effluent Monday about 3,000 feet from shore and forcing the closure of 4 1/2 miles of coastline.

Deputy City Manager Roger Frauenfelder said the effluent from the Point Loma Sewage Treatment Plant was first detected by the Coast Guard on the seaward side of Point Loma, about a mile from Cabrillo National Monument, and confirmed by county officials about 1 p.m. Monday.

“The Coast Guard notified us about a spill (late Sunday night), which certainly smelled like sewage,” Frauenfelder said. “We went out in our own boats (Monday) to investigate and found what we call a boiling effect 3,150 feet from the shore.

“We’ll send a team of divers out first thing (today)--as soon as there’s light--and from that point forward, we’ll have to devise some emergency repair method. We really have no idea what caused this.”

Officials for the San Diego County Department of Health Services said Monday the treated sewage--which has 75% to 80% of the solids removed--was flowing into the water at the rate of 2 million to 3 million gallons a day.

The reinforced pipe, which is 9 feet in diameter, carries 170 million gallons of effluent a day two miles out to sea. The outfall pipe was built in 1963 and, officials said, had never ruptured before.

Early Monday, county environmental health officials began closing 4 1/2 miles of San Diego coastline, from the southern tip of Point Loma to Ladera Street, at the northern end of Sunset Cliffs Park, posting signs warning of “contaminated water.” The area consists of cliffs and has no beaches.

Although officials said the leakage is thought to pose no serious environmental or health hazards, they cautioned divers and surfers to avoid the area because of the danger of coliform bacteria.

“We’ve taken water samples from around the area and found it could cause a higher than normal bacteria count in kelp beds,” Frauenfelder said. “That’s mainly what we’re concerned about. There’s a limit (of bacteria) that ought to be present for the recreational use of an area, and in this case, it may be above the limit. It isn’t thought to be serious; it’s just a precaution.”

The county will continue to monitor the spill to determine if more coastline should be closed today, said Dan Avera, county assistant deputy director of environmental health. Divers will probe the area today, officials said, to determine the extent of necessary temporary and permanent repairs.

Avera said the leak is about three-quarters of a mile off-shore in a shallow area where the outfall pipe is just 35 feet below the surface. The leaking sewage is welling to the surface, and fish and sea gulls were gathering in the area all day Monday.

“This is much different from other sewage spills that have happened in the area,” Frauenfelder said. “Those have occurred in the municipal collection system, which, every once in a while, gets blockages in the line--tree roots and other deposits growing into it.

“This is much different. In this case, raw sewage has gone all the way through the Point Loma Sewage Treatment Plant, had 75% to 80% of the solids removed, and because of the leak, is being deposited 3,150 feet from the shore, rather than two miles from the shore.

“We should know more by midday (today).”