Sewage-Tainted Water Closes Two Beaches

Sewage spills forced closure of two beaches Monday morning, frustrating officials who have dealt with a series of such situations since midsummer.

The latest closures, near Salt Creek and at Doheny State Beach, both off Dana Point, were ordered because “the water is contaminated with sewage,” said Larry Honeybourne, program chief for the Orange County health care agency’s water quality section. “Once there’s sewage in the system,” he said, “that’s it--the beach is closed.”

The larger of the two closures, affecting about a mile of beach from Three Arch Bay to south of Salt Creek, was ordered after roots growing into a pipeline serving several hundred homes in Dana Point created a blockage. About 6,000 gallons of raw sewage overflowed through manhole covers Sunday, said Mike Dunbar, general manager of the South Coast Water District. Eventually, he said, the sewage made its way to the flood control channel and into the sea.

The second closure, at Doheny State Beach, resulted from a 45-minute power failure in Mission Viejo that disabled two pump stations, sending more than 3,600 gallons of raw sewage into Oso Creek and into the ocean.

The incidents are the latest in a series of beach warnings and closures due to water pollution. Huntington Beach was off limits for much of the summer due to high bacteria readings believed to have been caused by runoff from a nearby channel.

Doheny State Beach, an unincorporated strip tucked into Dana Point where San Juan Creek flows into the ocean, received a failing water quality grade from the environment group Heal the Bay for 11 weeks from June 10 to Oct. 21. Experts say the problem there may be worse because the area draws a large number of birds, whose excrement sometimes fouls the water.

Honeybourne said Monday’s closures will be in effect at least through Wednesday afternoon.