Newport Bay and Section of Aliso Beach Reopened

NEWPORT BEACH — County health officials Friday reopened Newport Bay to swimmers and boaters seven days after declaring it off-limits following a major sewage spill caused by this month’s heavy rains.

At the same time, officials reopened a 1,000-foot stretch of Aliso Beach that had also been closed. Both areas were officially declared safe as of 4 p.m. Friday.

“Based on sampling we’ve done over the past five days, the water is back to within state standards,” said Larry Honeybourne, water quality chief for the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Newport Bay was closed Jan. 13 after a ruptured sewer pipe in Irvine spilled an estimated 1 million gallons of effluent into Serrano Creek, which flows into the bay. A 200-foot section of the pipe was washed away by water from this month’s series of storms.

The stretch of Aliso Beach near the mouth of Aliso Creek had been closed three days earlier, after a sewage-pumping facility near Portola Parkway and El Toro Road in Lake Forest malfunctioned, spilling 250,000 gallons of raw sewage into the ocean.

Skin contact with the water was barred because the water was laden with bacteria that could have caused gastrointestinal problems.

Signs were posted at the bay warning against activities involving direct contact with the water such as swimming, diving and windsurfing.

Honeybourne said there was only one report of a health-related problem that may have been associated with the spill, involving a man who experienced a skin rash after swimming in Newport Bay. The swimmer, whose condition did not appear serious, was referred to medical authorities, he said.