Minor Sewage Spill Closes Stretch of Shore in Laguna

A small sewage spill closed 300 feet of shoreline in Laguna Beach on Friday, the 20th time this year that Orange County ocean waters have been off-limits because of untreated human waste, officials said.

The county is on pace to break last year’s record number of beach closures--it has already tallied half the number of closures for all of 2000, when there were 40 incidents.

Friday’s spill happened when a partial line blockage sent sewage into a storm drain that flows onto the beach, said Monica Mazur, spokeswoman for the county’s Health Care Agency.

Workers built a berm and contained virtually all of the 500-gallon spill, but health officials were concerned that an extremely high tide could have pulled some sewage into the ocean, Mazur said. The beach between Agate and Pearl streets will be off-limits to swimming and surfing for at least three days.

Swimming in sewage-tainted water can cause gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, as well as eye, ear, nose and throat infections. Children and the elderly are especially susceptible.

The location of the blocked line was unavailable late Friday afternoon, but it is part of the Laguna Beach system. The city has a history of sewer problems. In August, state water officials fined Laguna Beach $60,000 for a string of sewage spills that closed beaches.