Officials Extend Beach Closure to Venice Pier After Sewage Spill
Los Angeles County health officials extended a beach closure to swimmers to include the Venice Pier area Wednesday after testing indicated that bacteria from a sewage spill near Ballona Creek last weekend had spread north.
The closure now stretches about 3 1/4 miles, from Venice Pier at Washington Street to Imperial Highway in El Segundo. Water samples from the beaches are to be tested again today to see if the bacteria count has returned to safe levels, said Richard Kebabjian, chief of recreational health programs for the county Department of Health Services.
About four miles of beaches were closed to swimmers after a sewer line backed up and several hundred thousand gallons of sewage ran into Ballona Creek on Sunday.
Venice Beach had been reopened Tuesday after testing showed that the bacteria count had dropped, but the northern portions of Dockweiler State Beach have remained closed as health officials monitored the bacteria levels, Kebabjian said.
Health officials said calm surf probably has contributed to the contaminants spreading north to Venice despite the ocean currents moving the bulk of the effluents south from Ballona Creek.
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