Sewage Spill Shuts Part of Anaheim Bay

County health officials closed part of Anaheim Bay to swimming and diving Monday because of a sewage spill--the record-breaking 39th time this year that Orange County’s coastal waters have been tainted by human waste.

The harbor patrol and “A” docks were closed Monday because of a five- to 10-gallon spill, said Larry Honeybourne, program chief for the Orange County Health Care Agency’s water quality section.

A vessel-pumping service that removes sewage from private boats was pumping collected waste into a sewer line at Sunset Aquatic Marina in the bay Monday morning. A county health worker noticed that the line was leaking about half a gallon per minute while in use.

Contact with the water could cause gastrointestinal, upper respiratory, eye, ear, nose or throat infections, health officials said. Children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems are especially susceptible to pathogens found in human waste.