Countywide : San Onofre State Beach Reopens After Sewage Spill a Week Ago
San Onofre State Beach reopened Friday after being closed March 11 by a Camp Pendleton sewage spill that dumped up to 750,000 gallons of raw waste into a nearby creek.
“Our tests show that bacteria levels have gone down to acceptable levels,” said Dan Avera, an assistant director for the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health.
Orange County health officials closely monitored the spill, but said ocean currents carried the sewage away from San Clemente beaches. The spill occurred when a sewage pipe crossing San Onofre Creek was washed out by last week’s rainstorm.
The sewage flowed into the creek and to the ocean until Wednesday, when Marine engineers erected a temporary bypass line.
The closure also affected popular surfing beaches nearby, such as Upper Trestles.
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