HUNTINGTON BEACH : Beach Closed While Water by Spill Tested

Health officials said Monday that a half-mile portion of beach will remain closed today while test results are completed after a sewage spill over the weekend at the mouth of the Santa Ana River.

Bob Merryman, director of environmental health for the Orange County Health Care Agency, said the beach was closed Sunday because of the possible hazards.

“The reason we close (the beach) is we always act in protecting public health and safety,” Merryman said.

The sewage spill forced the closure of a quarter-mile stretch of beach on each side of the river’s mouth. Warning signs were posted at both Huntington State Beach and Newport Beach.

A spokesman for the Orange County Sanitation Districts said the results of water samples taken Monday are to be completed today to determine the level of water contamination. Merryman said if the water testing comes back clean, the beach could reopen this afternoon.

He said treated sewage water that is normally discharged four to five miles at sea leaked from a pipe and spilled into the Santa Ana River.

Merryman said the spill, noticed by Huntington State Beach lifeguards, was relatively small--estimated at between 5,000 and 7,500 gallons of waste water.