Sewage Spill Prompts Warning Signs at Beach

A sewer line break near Meiners Oaks on Tuesday sent 22,500 gallons of raw sewage down the Ventura River and into the ocean, prompting environmental health officials to post warning signs along a two-mile stretch of beach.

The break was discovered about 7 a.m. and was plugged by 9:30 a.m., said Elizabeth Huff, community services manager for the Ventura County Environmental Health Department.

A 12-inch aluminum pipeline carrying sewage from Meiners Oaks homes downriver to a treatment plant near Canada Larga Road was overtaxed by heavy runoff and burst, said David Burkhart, general manager of the Ojai Valley Sanitary District.

“So much rain got into the sewer system it overwhelmed the pump station,” Burkhart said.

The pipeline that broke was a temporary system installed to take the place of a permanent line that burst during heavy February rains, dumping up to 2.5 million gallons of raw sewage downriver.

The temporary pipeline, crossing the river on a sidewalk along the California 150 bridge, had worked well while sanitary district officials sought regulatory approvals to enter the river and repair the permanent line.

“We’ve been getting the sewage across that way since February,” Burkhart said, “and haven’t had any particular problems.”

Until Tuesday. Burkhart expects the permanent pipeline to be repaired by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, environmental health officials posted signs Tuesday from the Ventura Pier to Emma Wood State Beach warning against bodily contact with the water and the eating of shellfish, which have been contaminated.

“They’re filter feeders,” Huff said. “They feed on whatever’s in the water--including sewage--and it accumulates in their meat.”

The consumption of fish caught off the pier and offshore is safe, but surfing the popular C Street surf break at Seaside Park is not, Huff said.

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The beach warnings will remain posted for at least 72 hours, or until bacterial tests of the waters show safe levels.

The county Health Department has set up an informational hotline at 654-2432.

Updated information can also be found on the department’s Web page, https://www.ventura.org/env--hlth/env.htm.