Beach Closed by Sewage Spill
County health officials closed a two-mile stretch of beach in Redondo Beach and Torrance on Saturday morning because of sewage contamination.
Firefighters responding to a sewage overflow about 9:40 a.m. found sewage flowing out of a manhole and into a storm drain. About 2,500 to 3,000 gallons of sewage flowed to the storm pipes and the ocean at two locations in Redondo Beach--Avenue F and Vista Del Mar, officials said.
Officials closed the beach about 11 a.m. from Knob Hill Avenue in the north to the Torrance-Palos Verdes Estates border in the south. The beach will remain closed at least until Monday morning, when the results of a bacterial count will be available.
“As a policy, once there’s sewage in the water we close it for 48 hours anyway,” said Richard Kebabjian, spokesman for the county Department of Health Services. “Any time sewage enters the ocean, there’s a potential for illness.”
The beach will remain closed until tests show the bacterial counts have returned to acceptable levels, he said.
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