Sewage Spills Into Ventura Harbor

Warning signs were posted at several spots around the Ventura Keys on Tuesday after approximately 900 gallons of untreated sewage gushed into Ventura Harbor.

The untreated effluent was discharged Monday into a storm drain near Arundell Circle after something--probably branches or leaves--clogged a sewer line. The sewage traveled from the storm drain into the Arundell Barranca and then to Ventura Harbor.

The city of Ventura got a call about the spill about 2 p.m. Monday, county officials said.

The county Environmental Health Division is advising the public to avoid contact with the water in the Arundell Barranca and in the Keys area of Ventura Harbor, after initial testing of the water revealed that the water is still brimming with pollutants. The postings do not affect any local surfing spots.

The closures are made “based on the amount of sewage spilled, public access points, tidal flows and those kinds of things,” said Elizabeth Huff of the county’s Environmental Health Division.

Signs have been posted at the Ventura Keys at Surfrider and Sailor avenues and Beachmont Street and Seaview Avenue, as well as at the boat docks at Marina Park.

The signs will remain until it has been determined that water quality is within acceptable bacteriological limits, Huff said.

Shellfish in the posted areas may also have been contaminated and should not be eaten, Huff said.

Results from samples taken Tuesday will be available Thursday, she said.

This is not the first--or the worst--spill in the last 12 months.

Every beach in Ventura County was closed for a week last February after a broken pipe in Thousand Oaks sent millions of gallons of untreated sewage spewing into the ocean, and heavy rains last winter washed contaminants down local rivers into the sea.

In May, 22,500 gallons of raw sewage flowed down the Ventura River and into the ocean after a pump owned by the Ojai Valley Sanitation District overflowed near Meiners Oaks. A 2-mile swath of beach was closed for two days.

In June, about 8,000 gallons of raw sewage flowed into the sea near Mandalay Bay, causing a temporary beach closure.

The county has long posted signs after known sewage spills like Monday’s. But after intense pressure from environmental groups, the county also has begun its first routine sampling of ocean water in 20 years.

The county Environmental Health Division began collecting samples from 52 beach sites Saturday, covering all 42 miles of the county’s coastline. The agency expects to collect more than 2,700 samples annually, doing tests each weekend. Signs will be posted in English and Spanish warning the public to avoid contaminated water at beaches where state standards are not met.

Huff said she expects the this week’s pollution to clear up within 72 hours of the spill.

* WATER CLEANUP: The EPA has OKd a plan that would clean up Ventura County beaches and waterways. A1