Upper Newport Bay Again Fouled by Sewage

Health officials Friday warned swimmers and kayakers to stay out of Upper Newport Bay after an estimated 6,000 gallons of partially treated sewage leaked into a tributary from a water reclamation plant Thursday morning.

The spill coincides with the state’s decision to fine the Irvine Ranch Water District, responsible for Thursday’s spill, for failing to report a broken pipeline that released about 5 million gallons of reclaimed water into San Diego Creek on June 7.

This latest spill “was a fluke. No one expected it, and we apologize,” Peer Swan, an Irvine Ranch Water District board member, said. “It’s embarrassing, we seem to be having a spate of these things, but that happens from time to time. We reported it properly and everyone will redouble their efforts to prevent these things from happening again.”

The sewage that leaked into the creek was liquefied but contained the same bacteria and viruses as raw sewage and can make people sick, said Monica Mazur, an environmental health specialist for the county.

Orange County Health Care Agency officials said they contacted the Newport Aquatic Center and surrounding water sports outlets in Newport Beach to warn people to avoid the water through the weekend, especially the upper part of the bay.

But employees at the aquatic center and another boat rental shop said Friday evening that they had not heard from health officials.

“I expect to be contacted if there’s a serious health risk,” said Tim Quinn, manager of Newport Dunes, which rents about 40 boats daily. “I can’t believe we wouldn’t be told if they wanted us to avoid the water on the Back Bay.”

The sewage spill follows the Regional Water Quality Control Board’s controversial decision earlier this month to allow the water district to send millions of gallons of reclaimed water--highly processed sewage--into San Diego Creek daily.

But the staff of the board said Friday that they still believe the water district’s record is strong and that the spill does not threaten its discharge plan.

“For the most part, we believe that the Irvine Ranch Water District treatment plant and distribution operations are of a high caliber,” said Mark Adelson, the board’s chief of surveillance and enforcement.

The Thursday spill occurred at the Michelson Water Reclamation plant next to San Diego Creek, which flows into the bay, about two miles upstream from the recreation area in Newport Bay. A ground-water pump malfunctioned just after midnight, causing the system to back up and the sewage to flow over into an area under construction. The sewage then flowed into a tank that was being drained into the creek, officials said.

District officials said the reclamation plant’s live-in operations manager discovered the mishap.

The June 7 spill occurred at the same reclamation plant and was caused by a broken pipe. The district reported that spill two days later, although the state requires notice within 24 hours. The state board staff is recommending a $100,000 fine, which will be decided in October.

The failure to report that spill within 24 hours “has raised questions about the adequacy of the water district’s response procedures,” Kurt Berchtold, the regional board’s assistant executive officer, said Friday.

“We regulate a number of sewage facilities, and there are prudent steps to curtail spills whenever these problems occur,” Berchtold said. “Then if a problem occurs, we see if they address it appropriately . . . they didn’t do that with the June leak,” he said.

On Friday, district officials visited the state board’s offices in Riverside to discuss the size of the financial penalty for Thursday’s spill, which, though reported on time, is subject to a $10-per-gallon fine.

The latest spills are the water district’s sixth and seventh since 1995, when nearly 3 million gallons of raw sewage poured into the creek. Until this week, the rest of the spills have been of reclaimed water, which state officials estimate at nearly 10 million gallons.

The regional board monitors about 45 waste-water treatment plants in portions of Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Also contributing to this report was Times staff writer Len Hall.