Point Loma Sewage Pipe Breaks; 4 1/2 Miles of Coastline Closed

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

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

Frauenfelder said the Coast Guard reported the spill late Sunday. He said divers will be out early today, after which a cleanup strategy will be formulated. “We really have no idea what caused this,” he said.

San Diego County Department of Health Services officials said 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 nine feet in diameter, carries 170 million gallons of treated sewage a day two miles out to sea. The pipe was built in 1963 and, officials said, had never ruptured.

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 has cliffs and contains 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.