Sewage Spills May Mean Fines for a City and Water District

Laguna Beach and the Moulton Niguel Water District could each be fined thousands of dollars for leaks this year that allowed raw sewage to flow into the ocean, water quality officials say.

On Feb. 27 and March 5, a total of 12,000 gallons of sewage from Laguna Beach city lines spilled into storm drains and flowed to the ocean, forcing closure of some stretches of beach, officials with the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board said Friday.

And on March 13 and 17, a total of more than 30,000 gallons of sewage from lines operated by the Moulton Niguel district flowed into Oso Creek and on to the ocean at Doheny Beach, water officials said.

The city and the water agency could be fined up to $10 per gallon of sewage, said Art Coe, assistant executive officer for the water board.

Whether the city and water district are fined, or how much they are fined, will depend on the degree of negligence and steps taken to prevent more leaks.

Steve May, director of engineering and sewer services for Laguna Beach, said the first spill happened when contractors working on new sewer lines rerouted existing lines at such sharp angles that sewage backed up from the work site on Sleepy Hollow Lane.The pressure caused a leak behind the Vacation Village Hotel “like water coming out of a hose at full blast,” May said.

The spill was contained the same day, May said, but the pollution forced closure of nearly a mile of beach north and south of Sleepy Hollow Lane for five days.

The second incident, May said, was caused by plant roots penetrating sewer lines “that were pretty old.” Sewage bubbled out of a manhole on Rim Rock Canyon Road in Laguna Beach, then flowed down a nearby storm drain to the ocean. A light rain made the situation worse, he said. Bluebird Canyon Beach was closed as a result.

May said Laguna Beach has turned over records and information to the water quality board, along with assurances of preventive measures.

“As far as the second incident, we repaired the sewer lines and inserted a plastic liner into the pipes to make it harder for roots to come in,” May said.

Laguna Beach is also embarking on a $1-million sewer repair project, May said.

Moulton Niguel Water District officials could not be immediately reached for comment on their situation.

Separately, the regional water board fined the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District $10,000 for spilling an unspecified amount of nontoxic dye into the Santa Ana River, said Wayne Baglin, the board’s chairman.

Half of that fine will be suspended if the district implements “an employee training program in appropriate spill response,” according to a board report.

Baglin said, “Even diluted dye can cut into the sunlight going into the water, causing negative impacts on the aquatic habitat.”