5,000-Gallon Sewage Spill Closes a Portion of Salt Creek Beach Park
An electrical malfunction caused 5,000 gallons of untreated sewage to spill from a pipeline into Salt Creek, forcing closure of a portion of Salt Creek Beach Park on Monday.
About 8:30 a.m., South Coast Water District workers were notified of sewage spilling from a pipeline next to the Links at Monarch Beach golf course into Salt Creek, said Michael Dunbar, South Coast Water District general manager.
The county Health Care Agency ordered 1,500 feet of beach near the mouth of the creek closed as a precaution, Dunbar said.
The problem developed when a sewage station near Crown Valley Parkway operated by Moulton Niguel Water District had an electrical malfunction, Dunbar said.
Sewage from the station emptied through an emergency overflow to a South Coast Water District pipeline, which wasn’t able to accommodate the added capacity and overflowed, Dunbar said.
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