A Familiar Sign: Beaches Closed

Sewage leaks forced closure of two Orange County beaches Monday morning, frustrating officials who have dealt with a series of similar spills since midsummer.

The latest closures, near Salt Creek and at Doheny State Beach, were ordered because “the water is contaminated with sewage,” said Larry Honeybourne, program chief for the county Health Care Agency’s water quality section. “Once there’s sewage in the system, that’s it: The beach is closed.”

The larger of the two closures, affecting about a mile of the shore 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, said Mike Dunbar, general manager of the South Coast Water District. About 6,000 gallons of sewage overflowed through manhole covers along Seven Seas Drive about 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Eventually, he said, the sewage made its way to the flood control channel and into the sea.

The second closure, which involved about a quarter-mile of Doheny State Beach, resulted from a 45-minute power failure in Mission Viejo that disabled two Santa Margarita Water District pump stations, sending more than 3,600 gallons of raw sewage into Oso Creek and then into the ocean off Doheny.

The incidents are the latest in a series of beach warnings and closures caused by water pollution. Huntington Beach was off-limits to surfers and swimmers for much of the summer because of 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 meets 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 ongoing pollution there may be related to the large number of birds that congregate in the area, fouling the water with their excrement.

The same beach was closed for five days after the Oct. 16 Hector Mine earthquake caused a pump to malfunction at a Southeast Regional Reclamation Authority plant in Mission Viejo, resulting in a 2,000-gallon sewage spill.

Honeybourne said Monday’s closures will be in effect at least through Wednesday afternoon. Bacteria levels were measured Monday, he said, and results probably will be available sometime today.

In the meantime, Honeybourne said, anyone who enters the water runs the risk of infection that could cause nausea, diarrhea, gastrointestinal problems and throat irritation. “We’re requesting that people not go swimming in that water,” he said.