Ventura Sewage Spill Prompts Warning About Area Beaches
A grease blockage in a city water main caused 14,000 gallons of raw sewage to leak into Ventura Harbor on Wednesday morning, prompting environmental officials to warn residents away from several beaches.
The spill occurred about 10:50 a.m. when sewage began flowing into the Arundell Barranca, on Arundell Avenue near the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks.
The east Ventura storm drain runs to the Pacific Ocean, and county environmental health officials said residents should avoid water contact at Ventura Harbor, Ventura Keys, Ventura Marina, Marina Park, Marina Cove Beach and Surfers Knoll.
Health officials also said that shellfish in these areas may have been contaminated and should not be eaten.
City street crews noticed the spill and alerted city sanitation workers. Sanitation crews plugged the leak--which apparently originated at a manhole and was attributed to grease buildup--in about an hour. They created an earthen dam to block the flow.
“As soon as they found it, they bermed it and pumped up what they could,” said Elizabeth Huff of the county’s Environmental Health Department.
Warning signs will remain at the beaches through the weekend, and it will likely be Monday before bacteria tests determine whether the water is safe, Huff said.
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