Sewage Spill Closes 29 Miles of Beaches

Officials in two counties have closed 29 miles of beaches because of health hazards from millions of gallons of raw sewage spewed into a Thousand Oaks creek since a concrete pipe snapped under storm waters early Tuesday.

Ventura County officials closed beaches from Oxnard to the county line Tuesday to keep swimmers out of waters potentially contaminated by sewage flowing 15 miles down creeks to Mugu Lagoon--and the ocean beyond. And Los Angeles County authorities Thursday shut beaches from that point south to Point Dume.

Those beaches will remain closed through the weekend--or 72 hours after repair of the ruptured line, which was expected sometime today.

Warning signs were posted because the raw sewage--although diluted by rainwater runoff--carries bacteria that could cause diseases such as typhoid fever, hepatitis, dysentery and stomach flu, said Steve Kephart, spokesman for the Ventura County Environmental Health Department.

“Those are potentially organisms associated with a sewage discharge, and the public should avoid contact,” Kephart said. “You risk the chance of catching one of those diseases.”

Indeed, all of Ventura County’s beaches were closed Thursday either because of the sewage or as a precaution because storm runoff usually carries high levels of bacteria from animal feces and urban runoff.

Even as a crew tried to patch the huge Thousand Oaks sewer main before the next downpour, rain-battered Ventura County braced for a series of major storms through the middle of the month.

“We’re going to be wet, wet, wet for the next 10 days,” said meteorologist Gary Ryan of the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office. “The door remains open across the entire Pacific Ocean, all 8,000 miles, and they’re blowing right in on California, north and south.”

Forecasters predicted 2 to 3 inches of rain in sodden coastal areas from today’s large new storm, with 2 to 5 inches in the mountains above Ojai. Lighter showers will continue Saturday and Sunday, with another big storm arriving Tuesday, Ryan said.

County rainfall this winter is double what is normal, and the new storms will only renew the threat of floods that have already cost the county at least $8.5 million in crop and public property damage this week, and brought a disaster declaration from Gov. Pete Wilson.

“It’s a major rainstorm coming in,” Ryan said. “It’s not in the ballpark with the super-storm the other night, but anything on top of this saturated ground is going to result in possible creek and stream flooding. This is not a good time for more rain.”

The actual amount of property loss is sure to mount, authorities said, as damage to state, federal and private property is tabulated in the weeks ahead.

“We don’t know the real damage figure, and we may never have a final figure if the rains don’t stop,” said Dale Carnathan, an administrator at the sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services.

In other storm-related developments Thursday:

* Emergency crews continued to clear storm drains and shore up sliding slopes.

* Matilija Canyon Road was reopened to one lane, but officials said it will cost $200,000 to fully repair 50 feet of undermined roadway.

* Detours continued around a stretch of California 118 between Somis and Moorpark, and officials still don’t know how long it will take to repair a collapsed bridge.

* The Red Cross closed its second emergency shelter, as the last of 40 people who evacuated a flooded Port Hueneme apartment complex went home or moved in with relatives.

But the real battle Thursday was carried out in a narrow Thousand Oaks canyon, where workers repaired a broken 30-inch diameter sewer pipe that split apart when rushing storm waters descended at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

After a 15-person crew worked late into the night Thursday, officials realized that an earlier target of noon today to complete repairs would not be met. “Progress has been excruciatingly slow,” said Don Nelson, the city’s public works director.

On Thursday, workers found two of the three 10-foot sections that had ripped from the line Tuesday. But a third section was still missing beneath the waters of the rushing creek late in the day.

A new third section was brought in and must be installed before crews can reconstruct the line and pour concrete over it to keep creek water from getting into the joints and pushing them out of place again.

By this morning, about 18 million gallons of untreated sewage is expected to have spilled into Conejo Creek.

As a result, Ventura County officials closed 10 miles of the beach on each side of Mugu Lagoon, and Los Angeles County officials posted warnings from the Ventura County line south to Point Dume.

Los Angeles County health officials said they were surprised to hear about the 2-day-old spill Thursday morning, when a lifeguard at Leo Carrillo State Beach called them to ask if it was safe to go in the water.

Ventura County officials posted warning signs at Leo Carrillo on Tuesday and notified health authorities in Los Angeles County, said Elizabeth Huff, Ventura County health officer. However, information about the spill apparently did not reach the right office.

“They should have told us,” said Jack Petralia, director of environmental protection in Los Angeles County’s Department of Health Services. “Yes, it’s an issue. Quite frankly, I didn’t like the way we had to find out.”

Water samples from polluted Conejo Creek will be taken by county health inspectors after the 72-hour quarantine to see if the water is safe for swimmers, Kephart said.

Samples were also pulled Wednesday by inspectors for the Regional Water Quality Control Board in Los Angeles, but results will not be returned for at least a week, officials said.

Officials at the Point Mugu Navy base and in Los Angeles County are also testing the waters for contamination.

Tom Keeney, ecologist and natural resources manager at Point Mugu, said he worried about the long-term effects of the spill and other contaminants that end up in Mugu Lagoon--one of the most valuable saltwater wetlands in the state.

“We’re like a sitting duck,” he said. “We want to mind our own business but we are the end point.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control Department for the 24-hour period ending at 6 p.m. Tuesday . Oct. 1 is the beginning of the official rain year.

*--*

Rainfall Rainfall Rainfall Normal rainfall Location last 24 hours since Sunday since Oct. 1 to date Camarillo 2.56 4.49 15.55 7.54 Casitas Dam 2.40 7.87 24.64 12.97 Casitas Rec. 3.90 9.45 25.54 12.87 Center Fillmore 3.62 5.79 20.13 10.52 Matilija Dam 3.03 8.98 25.31 14.53 Moorpark 1.93 3.15 15.19 8.16 Ojai 3.11 6.50 20.16 11.58 Upper Ojai 4.96 10.55 22.24 12.42 Oxnard 2.52 4.06 18.33 7.98 Piru 1.54 2.91 15.22 9.49 Port Hueneme 3.58 6.85 18.31 7.85 Santa Paula 2.05 4.69 17.04 9.71 Simi Valley 1.22 2.09 16.32 7.82 Thousand Oaks 3.50 4.72 15.54 8.42 Ventura Govt. 4.25 7.64 21.35 8.83 Center

*--*

*

Daryl Kelley is a Times staff writer and Cathy Murillo is a correspondent.

*

STORMS CONTINUE: Heavy rains pummel Northern California. A3