High Bacteria Count Closes Beach; Ballona Creek Blamed
A 1 1/2-mile section of beach from Marina del Rey south to Vista del Mar Park was closed Sunday after authorities detected high levels of bacterial contamination.
The county health department took the action after Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation workers found high levels of bacteria at several Hyperion Treatment Plant monitoring stations, said a health department spokesman.
Officials were unsure of the cause of the contamination but said its likely source was Ballona Creek.
“It probably came from Ballona Creek because there was a high count there 24 hours before and then it showed up on the coastline,” said Richard Kebabjian, chief of recreation health for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
Kebabjian said the Ballona Creek count has since gone down.
However, the beach will remain closed for recreational use until counts return to normal, he said.
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