Break in Sewer Line Fouls Creek, Forces Closure at Aliso Beach

For the third time this year, a south Laguna Beach sewage treatment agency has fouled Aliso Creek with raw or partially treated sewage that has forced the closure of a nearby beach.

More than 1,500 gallons of partially treated waste spewed into the creek and then into the ocean when the cap from a sewer line broke Saturday morning, said David Caretto, general manager for the Aliso Water Management Agency.

As a result, the county closed a 2,000-foot section of Aliso Beach at the creek mouth after the sewage entered the ocean.

On Jan. 4, about 390 gallons of raw sewage spilled in the 600 block of Avenida Sevilla in Laguna Woods and another 500 gallons of raw sewage flowed into the creek on Feb. 17, when a blockage forced sewage out of a floor drain in the agency’s treatment plant.

Saturday’s spill occurred about 11:30 a.m. when the cap came off a pipeline. Sewer officials did not know whether it was because of pressure build-up or age and fatigue. The line was shut down about 11:45 a.m. and crews were at the site Monday attempting to repair the pipe and find the cause.

“We’re not really sure at this point why [the cap] came off,” Caretto said.

The facility is about a quarter of a mile from Aliso Beach.

The spill was not the only mishap over the weekend that may have contributed to the creek’s problems.

Two weeks ago, the county launched its creek diversion project to prevent urban runoff from reaching Aliso Beach. Under an emergency permit from the state Coastal Commission, the county blocked the creek with a sand berm and began pumping creek water into a pipe that carries material 2 1/2 miles offshore.

The project is to alleviate the creek’s chronic bacteria problems that have caused beach closures and brought complaints from swimmers and surfers of skin rashes and infections, said Larry Paul, county manager for watershed and coastal resources.

The 12-mile creek, which starts near Cook’s Corner in Trabuco Canyon and travels southwest to Aliso Beach, carries whatever runs off streets and down storm drains. That includes motor oil, grease, antifreeze, pollutants that have settled on the ground, herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers and animal waste.

The 4-foot berm that stretched across the entire creek mouth was expected to withstand surf, but seawater breached it Saturday.

“We didn’t expect the storm-driven surf on top of a high tide,” Paul said.

A southern swell brought surf as high as 7 feet that combined with a 7.1-foot high tide on Saturday.

As sea water rushed over the berm, it combined with dammed-up creek water and flooded part of a nearby golf course. The additional impounded water exceeded what the county was allowed to pump into the pipe, and crews were brought in to demolish the berm and allow the creek to drain into the ocean, Paul said.

“The pump could have kept up but the county is limited as to the amount of flow rate it can put in the outfall pipe,” he said.

Chris Evans, executive director of the San Clemente-based Surfrider Foundation, said creek diversions are good projects but challenged the county’s action of demolishing the berm and polluting the ocean.

“Why is the first choice, ‘Let’s dump it into the ocean?’ ” Evans said. “Why aren’t there more viable options? They could have kept on top of this and pumped it into the sewage system rather than let it drain in the ocean.”