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Sewage spill in Long Beach closes 7 miles of shoreline

A man enjoys the view of the marina and the mountains from Bayshore Beach in Long Beach.
A man sitting at Bayshore Beach in Long Beach enjoys the view of the marina and the mountains in this April file photo. The city has temporarily closed its beaches because of a sewage spill.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Beaches in Long Beach are temporarily closed after a sewage spill over the weekend tainted the waters.

A power outage Saturday caused a pump station to fail, spilling approximately 50,000 gallons of sewage into the Los Cerritos Channel on Long Beach’s eastern border, according to a city news release. Long Beach city health officer Dr. Anissa Davis ordered a temporary closure of the city’s roughly seven miles of shoreline.

The beaches may not reopen until early next week, according to a representative from the Long Beach Water Quality program. Bacteria levels are expected to rise during Monday’s rainstorm and may take several days to return to a healthy status.

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The city’s health department is monitoring water quality and will continue to test samples until the water returns to state standards, officials said. A team tests water samples weekly to monitor bacteria levels.

For updates on the status of the closures, call the city’s water hotline at (562) 570-4199.

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