Polluted Beach May Be Declared a Disaster Zone

The city administrator said Friday that he may ask the City Council to declare a local disaster zone if work crews can’t find the source of a sewage leak that has fouled the water for two months, closed beaches and caused financial losses at local businesses.

City Administrator Ray Silver said he intends to monitor the progress of crews over the weekend and, if no progress is made, recommend the council take action Monday.

With the declaration of a local emergency, city officials could apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to compensate the city for the $50,000 it has spent on the sewage probe. It would also allow local business owners who are insured to recoup losses during the closure. The Orange County Sanitation District has spent more than $400,000.

“There are still a lot of things to weigh here,” Silver said Friday, including whether a local emergency “misconveys a larger problem than exists.”

Silver said that although ocean water pollution levels continued to exceed safety standards in front of Huntington State Beach, “the good news is that levels are down now everywhere else for two days in a row.”

As a task force continued to search for the cause of the mysterious leak, which has closed a 4.2-mile portion of the coast, downtown business leaders met Friday to try to come up with “creative events” to lure inland residents to the seaside town.

The city already has slashed parking rates from $7 to $1, and shop owners are suggesting public concerts and beach-walk sales to bring in business and avoid an economically disastrous holiday weekend.