Sewage Spill Again Forces Beach Closure

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 of 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.

Crews were at the site Monday attempting to repair the pipe and find out the exact cause.

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

On Jan. 4, 390 gallons of raw sewage spilled in the 600 block of Avenida Sevilla in Laguna Woods and an additional 500 gallons went into the creek 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 due to pressure buildup or age and wear. The line was shut about 11:45 a.m.

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

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

The project’s goal is to ease the creek’s chronic bacteria problems that have brought complaints by swimmers of skin rashes and infections, said Larry Paul, county manager of watershed and coastal resources.