LAGUNA BEACH : Sewage Spill Flows Into Aliso Creek
A mechanical failure caused about 500 gallons of raw sewage to be dumped into Aliso Creek on Tuesday.
The breakdown occurred at 8:20 a.m. during a routine power outage to test the South Coast Water District’s generator equipment.
When emergency power wasn’t supplied to a waste water station, the untreated sewage overflowed into Aliso Creek, which feeds into the ocean at South Laguna Beach, according to officials.
The Orange County Health Department didn’t close Aliso Beach because the creek mouth was blocked by a natural sand berm.
“There was surf breaking over (the berm), but nothing coming out,” said Monica Mazur, county health specialist.
“It’s already posted for people not to go into the creek so we just left it there. The lifeguards were asked to keep a close eye on it for a couple of days to make sure nobody goes there.”
Mazur said there might be bacteria in the water that could cause illness.
Tests were performed, but the results will not be available for a few days, she said.
The spill was the first in the county since June 20, when 16,000 gallons of waste sludge was dumped into Aliso Creek.
The spill was caused by a broken main owned by the Los Alisos Water District.
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