SOUTH LAGUNA : Aliso Sewage Leak Is Nearly Repaired

A sewage pipe that ruptured six weeks ago near the Aliso Beach shoreline, fouling the waters and closing the beach, should be repaired soon and the beach reopened by next week, officials said Tuesday.

“This is just the interim repair to plug the leak and get the beach back open,” said Lisa Hogan, assistant general manager for the Aliso Water Management Agency.

The repair work is being done in stages, and a more extensive project to shore up the 14-year-old pipe permanently will probably begin in the fall, she said.

If the first repairs are completed this week, the county may reopen the half-mile stretch of beach Monday, said Larry Honeybourne, an official with the Orange County Environmental Management Agency.

“Assuming the repairs are done, and done so they can assure us there are no further leaks, that’s a possibility.”

Meanwhile, frustrated beach-goers said they are fed up with recurring sewage spills that have closed their favorite strand twice this year and seven times since 1989.

“I don’t want to say we’re resigned to it,” said Frank Grimaldi, during one of his daily walks at Aliso Beach. “But I think that sign is almost permanently there that says contaminated water.”

Grimaldi said he never swims at Aliso Beach.

Trudi DeFries, who runs a snack shop at the Aliso Beach Pier, said pollution woes have hurt business.

“People complain every single day,” she said. “They’re very upset about it. We have a lot of environmentalists around here.”

Water officials said the pipe probably ruptured last month during a fierce storm. First estimates were that 100,000 to 250,000 gallons of treated sewage have been gushing into the ocean near the shoreline daily. Water officials now estimate the amount of sewage at 50,000 to 100,000 gallons a day.

The spill closed the beach from the Camel Point outcropping south of the pier to the northern border of the Treasure Island trailer park.

On Saturday at 1 a.m., divers began repairing the pipe from the inside, a temporary fix that will cost about $140,000, Hogan said.

The permanent repair, being designed by engineers, could be considerably more expensive, she said.

Some Aliso Beach regulars remain skeptical about the future of the sullied cove. DeFries said the time has come for the county, city and water district to find a solution that will stick.

“It’s really getting to the point where it’s aggravating,” she said. “I think they all should get together and do something about it.”