S.D. Outfall Pipe Break Is Called ‘Catastrophic’ : Contamination: Entire output of treated effluent from San Diego’s sewage plant is now fouling the coast.

A massive treated sewage spill, spewing forth 170 million gallons of effluent every 24 hours, saturated the coastline off Point Loma on Tuesday, as officials monitored what they called a growing health hazard and the likelihood that repairs may take as long as two months.

Local experts said the spill from a huge outfall pipe, first detected by the Coast Guard on Sunday night and confirmed Monday afternoon at a depth of 35 feet, three-quarters of a mile from shore, was much worse than anyone believed.

Many are calling it the worst sewage spill in county history.

“Experts here are calling it a catastrophic failure,” said Ruth Covill, a county health official who oversees Proposition 65, which mandates that the public be alerted about the presence of toxins in local waters.

Covill said divers, surfers or swimmers coming into contact with the coliform bacteria present in such sewage--from which 75% to 80% of solids have been removed--run the risk of incurring a variety of water-borne diseases, ranging from gastrointestinal disorders to dysentery, hepatitis and typhoid.

“This water is not bacteria- and virus-free,” Covill said. “It is contaminated and poses a health risk for some time to come.”

County officials were deciding late Tuesday whether to broaden a quarantine area that extended from the southern tip of the Point Loma peninsula to an area 4 1/2 miles north, at the foot of Ladera Street on the western edge of Sunset Cliffs Park.

The reinforced concrete pipe could take six to eight weeks--possibly longer--to repair, “depending on weather conditions and availability of materials,” according to a statement released late Tuesday by City Manager Jack McGrory.

No one was willing to talk about cost, though it’s expected to reach into the millions of dollars. And no one underestimated the task.

“This is a very serious situation,” said Paul Downey, a spokesman for Mayor Maureen O’Connor. “We’re watching it very intently. We need to find out exactly how and why this happened, to make sure such a spill never happens again, especially one of this magnitude.”

At the City Council meeting Tuesday night, O’Connor said the break has created an emergency situation and hinted, without providing details, that the city may ask residents to participate in a conservation plan.

The spill itself is 3,150 feet from the rocky shores of Point Loma, about a mile from Cabrillo National Monument. The pipe carries treated sewage from the nearby Point Loma treatment plant, officially known as the E.W. Blom Wastewater Treatment Plant.

McGrory said the pipe, which was constructed in 1963 and extends 2.2 miles out to sea at a depth of 220 feet, was last inspected during the fall and “checked out fine.” Officials said the pipe is leaking its entire load of 170 million gallons of effluent a day.

Deputy City Manager Roger Frauenfelder said Tuesday the 9-foot-diameter pipe, which had never ruptured since being installed, carries treated wastewater from a wide geographic area, extending from Del Mar in the north, to Alpine in the east and the international border in the south.

The sewage treatment plant serves more than 1.6 million people.

“This had never happened in the 28-year history of the pipe, and we’re very surprised it did,” Frauenfelder said, noting that engineering and environmental teams were working round the clock to monitor the spill.

Milon Mills, water utilities director for the city of San Diego, said local authorities had been hoping for some time to extend the range of the pipeline beyond its 2.2-mile limit and place it at an even greater depth.

“We’d like to push it out at least another mile or so to get it farther away from kelp beds,” Mills said. “That would help reduce the bacteria count in the kelp beds, which would make for a safer situation.”

Downey, the mayor’s spokesman, said the sheer magnitude of the rupture reinforces “the need of upgrading the county’s sewage system. We’ll have to investigate closely to see if the spill was caused by the need for an upgrade or some other problem.”

Frauenfelder said the rupture may have occurred when at least two of the massive sections shifted out of alignment, causing sewage to ooze through at a depth of 35 feet and surface across a wide area, which has been attracting birds and fish.

McGrory, the city manager, said the “best guess” was that settling of the ocean floor, coupled with “the tremendous force of effluent moving through the pipe, blew out additional sections.”

Frauenfelder also said the break may have been caused by an “external force,” speculating that it could have been wave action or a ship dropping its anchor on the pipe.

McGrory said at least 19 sections of the pipe, each of which is 25 feet long and weighs 30 tons, incurred some damage. He said repair crews were dispatched to the area Tuesday, but the task of fixing the pipe is complicated by its size and submersion.

The potential for leaks less than 2,500 feet from the shore is thought to be minimal “since from that point in, the pipe is encased in boulders,” McGrory said. “So far, the failure has been confined past the 3,000-foot line.”

Repair is further complicated because the flow of sewage can’t be shut off for long periods.

“This isn’t like a faucet,” Frauenfelder said. “You can turn it off but for only short periods at a time. At the most, no more than two hours. You’ve got to work with sewage pumping through, and the rate is 170 million gallons every 24 hours.”

Frauenfelder said city officials intend to send in a barge to see if fragments of damaged pipe can somehow be salvaged. McGrory said it will be at least three weeks before the city can receive the first shipment of replacement pipe.

Covill, the county health official, said the city--at the county’s behest--had set up nine “sample” stations from Ocean Beach to Coronado to monitor, twice a day, the level of toxic activity.

“We’re requiring that they do that, starting (Tuesday),” she said.

Depending on the results of the tests, the quarantine area could be expanded.

Covill said the leaking sewage poses no danger to fish, nor to anyone who eats such fish, provided it isn’t eaten raw.

“You cook the fish, and that gets rid of the toxins,” she said. “Fish love it because it brings in small fish, who want to feed on it, and because, let’s face it, it’s organic matter that’s a food source for fish.”

Covill said the quarantined area poses no great danger to boaters or to competitors in the America’s Cup sailing regatta, “unless, of course, they fall in the water.”

Despite the dangers and a smattering of warning signs posted for miles along the Point Loma cliffs, dozens of local surfers ignored the advice in favor of what many called the best spot for waves in Southern California.

Ironically, one such spot, just south of Ladera Street, is named “Garbage.”

“No, I didn’t notice anything unusual . . . things seemed to be fine,” said Harry Cole, who was surfing Tuesday afternoon in a quarantined area just south of Ladera Street, near Sunset Cliffs. “Yeah, I saw the signs, but hey, it keeps the people away. More room for us on these great waves.”

“What can you say about all these guys ignoring the warnings,” said a city lifeguard, who asked not to be quoted by name.

He sighed and said, “With surfers, it’s an addiction, and the addiction--the temptation--outweighs the consequences of bodily harm. It’s crazy . But the quarantined area is mostly a surfer’s paradise, especially with the swells we’re having right now.

“People go surfing here all the time, and unfortunately, this problem comes when the surfing couldn’t be better. I just hope nobody gets sick.”

Times staff writer H.G. Reza contributed to this story.

HEALTH DANGER: The spill poses serious health risks for surfers, divers, or swimmers who disregard warnings and take a dip in the contaminated water. B1

A Break in the Pipeline

There is a major break in the 9-foot-diameter pipe that carries treated effluent from the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant out to sea. On the average day, 170 million gallons of wastewater (sewage that has been given “advanced primary” treatment) is pumped 2.2 miles out in the ocean, to a depth of 220 feet. The break in the pipeline is just 3,150 feet from shore, in 35 feet of water.

Officials believe the break may have been caused by an “external force”-settling on the ocean floor, wave action or a ship dropping its anchor on the pipe. The pipe is made of 25-foot section or reinforced concrete that weigh 30 tons each. Officials believe at least 19 sections will have to be replaced.

Kelp beds that parallel the coast are about a mile from shore. The break occurred on the coast side of the kelp beds. The kelp beds nearest the break are 1,000 to 2,000 feet wide.