Crystal Cove Spill to Be Investigated

Regional water board officials will investigate a water pipe break that sent several thousand gallons rushing through a flood control channel/pedestrian tunnel in Crystal Cove Park while schoolchildren were standing in it.

Crystal Cove state park ranger Michael Eaton said the first-graders in the walkway at the time of the spill were not injured. He said he did not know which school they attended. Their teachers were concerned about the content of the water, but were assured that it was not dangerous.

“It was described by witnesses as being between ankle- and knee-deep. A pretty good flow of water,” Eaton said. The water passed through the normally calm channel for about 30 minutes, he said.

Laura Davick, founder of the Alliance to Rescue Crystal Cove, said she videotaped a half-mile plume of sediment into the ocean from the spill, and also saw about 100 students struggling with their teachers to cross busy Pacific Coast Highway after water filled the channel.

Normally it takes a storm to cause water to flow strongly through the channel, Eaton said.

“It was a fluke. You don’t expect water to rush down a flood channel during this kind of weather,” Eaton said. He said even during heavy rains, “common sense” rather than physical barriers keeps people from using the walkway/channel.

The break occurred about 12:45 p.m. Tuesday on land purchased from the Irvine Co. by Standard Pacific Homes for the 99-unit Seabourne at Crystal Cove housing project, said Thomas Olson, project manager for Standard Pacific Homes. Currently about 424 homes are being built overlooking the state park by four companies, said Rich Elbaum, a spokesman for the Irvine Co. Each of the home building companies has water discharge permits, Elbaum said.

The break occurred when the weight of a grading machine used by Hillcrest Construction Co. apparently caused the pipe to buckle.

There was no obvious environmental damage. The pristine ocean water and reefs off Crystal Cove are designated as having special biological significance.

Kurt Berchtold, assistant executive officer of the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, said his agency will investigate whether the incident could have been avoided. He said Standard Pacific Homes had done the right thing by notifying the board quickly.