Sewage Spills, Beach Closures Blamed on El Nino Storms

El Nino-related storms that have caused havoc to coastal property are now responsible for a 480,000-gallon sewage spill, the largest in Orange County in three years, that has forced closure of a 2-mile stretch of Aliso Beach.

Authorities said Wednesday the Trabuco Canyon Water District reported early Monday that an electrical pump station that sends sewage to a treatment facility had failed. The district at first said 180,000 gallons of untreated sewage had flowed into Aliso Creek, but that figure was later increased.

“They changed the amount later when they realized that the pump station was out for at least three hours,” said Larry Honeybourne, manager for the county’s water-quality programs. “There is a backup generator but it failed to kick on when the station went down.”

County workers immediately posted warning signs at Aliso Beach, near the mouth of Aliso Creek, more than 12 miles downstream from the pump station where the spill occurred.

A second sewage mishap was reported on Wednesday.

About 11,300 gallons of treated sewage sludge spilled into Sulfur Creek, a tributary of Aliso Creek about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Mike Dunbar, general manager for South Coast Water District. The spill was blamed on water-saturated creek embankments that gave way, rupturing the sewage pipeline.

So far this week, four beaches along the county’s 42-mile coastline have been ordered closed until health officials can test creek and ocean waters for contamination levels, Honeybourne said.

All four closures were caused by sewage spills from pipe ruptures, embankments giving way, or rain overwhelming storm and sewer systems.

* Salt Creek County Beach was closed as a result of a 500-gallon spill at a pump station by Moulton Niguel Water District.

* Dana Point Harbor breakwater and half a mile of Doheny State Beach was closed because of a pipeline break caused by a landslide in San Juan Capistrano. It was first reported on Monday, and again on Wednesday when a second pipeline break was discovered, said Honeybourne. More than 3,600 gallons of treated sewage entered San Juan Creek.

* On Saturday, Capistrano Beach Water District reported a 4,500-gallon raw sewage spill at Coast Highway and Palisades Drive in San Juan Capistrano. A half-mile stretch of Capistrano Beach County Park has been closed.

* Aliso Beach is closed from Dumond Street to 10th Street in Laguna Beach.

At the Trabuco Canyon Water District, where the large sewage spill occurred, a pump station serving the Trabuco Canyon, Irvine Ranch Water and Santa Margarita water districts was blamed for the problem, said Bruce Boner, Trabuco Canyon district’s general manager.

Boner said an investigation revealed that a computer controlling eight pumps and a telephone dialer at the station had failed when “a number of power spikes,” hit the pump station.

“It’s a programmable logic controller,” Boner said, “that was supposed to control the pumps and also controls a dialer that dials out to notify us when there’s a problem. It failed.”

Boner said he reported the sewage spill to county health and water agencies and also the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. The water district has fixed the problem, he said.

On an average day, about 650,000 gallons of raw sewage is pumped through the station and lifted to a regional treatment plant on Ortega Highway, he said.

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Honeybourne said that although signs warn the public not to swim in water tainted with bacteria and pathogens, some surfers continued to use Aliso Beach.

Mark Cousineau, president of the San Clemente-based Surfrider Foundation, cautioned both swimmers and surfers to stay out of the ocean until testing has been completed.

“There’s always a concern when you have sewage in the ocean and despite signs, people will still go in the water,” Cousineau said. “Typically, these people are risking serious nose, throat and ear infections.”

The last big sewage spill was on Jan. 14, 1995, also an El Nino year, when an estimated 1.2 million gallons of sewage spilled when a 200-foot section of pipe owned by the Irvine Ranch Water District was washed away by heavy rain.

For more information regarding Orange County beach closures or to report a sewage spill, call the county Health Care Agency at (714) 667-3752.

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David Reyes can be reached at (714) 248-2150. His e-mail address is david.reyes@latimes.com.