SOUTH LAGUNA : Pipe Is Repaired; Beach May Reopen

A ruptured pipe, which has been dumping treated sewage near the South Laguna shoreline for two months, appears to have been successfully repaired and county health officials say Aliso Beach may reopen Monday.

“We are sampling the water today and will have the results back by Monday morning,” Orange County Health Care Agency official Larry Honeybourne said Friday. “If the results are within the standards, we’ll go ahead and open the beach at that time.”

County and water officials met Friday at the beach, where fluorescent yellow dye was inserted into the pipe to make sure the leaks were sealed, said Lisa Hogan, assistant general manager for Aliso Water Management Agency, the waste-water treatment agency supervising the repairs.

The pipe did not appear to leak, and county officials then took samples from the ocean, which will be tested to ensure that the water is within safety limits.

The half-mile stretch of beach has been closed from the Camel Point rock outcropping south of Aliso Pier to the northern border of Treasure Island trailer park since the 14-year-old pipe ruptured in February.