City reimbursed for damaged sewer main

A dredging company reimbursed the city of Newport Beach for $25,000 in damages made to a sewer main, according to city documents.

Newport Beach invoiced R.E. Staite Engineering Inc. for damages made Aug. 15 to the main during dredging around the Balboa Yacht Club, 1801 Bayside Drive, according to a city memo.

The city received full payment May 17, according to Mary Locey, a city spokeswoman.

That payment will cover the repair costs, but does not apply to any future fines that could be imposed by a regulatory agency, according to the city memo.

About 2,800 gallons of bacteria-filled sewage spilled into the Newport Bay when the dredging vessel sheered off the 3-foot piece of the main. It took city crews three hours to stop the spill.

Compounding the problem, crews discovered a valve on a sewage line installed in the 1930s didn’t fully close after they tried to divert sewage from the broken main.

Balboa Island’s sewer system was shut down most of the day and came back up the next day after other area agencies helped hauled the sewage to the county line on the other side of the break.

— Lauren Williams

Twitter: @lawilliams30