LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) More Southern California beaches have been reopening after a large sewage spill shut off a large segment of the coastline before New Year’s Day.
According to Julie MacDonald (a spokesperson for the agency), Monday’s closures of Sunset Beach and Seal Beach were lifted by Orange County’s health agency after testing proved that the water quality was acceptable. Los Angeles County health officials said Sunday that closures for beaches such as Point Fermin and Outer Cabrillo were lifted. According to the, beaches in Long Beach remain closed. Website for the city.
Officials stated that a sewer main line failed Thursday in the city of Carson, discharging roughly 8.5 million gallons (32 million liters) of sewage into the Dominguez Channel, which empties into Los Angeles Harbor.
The spillage caused swimming areas to be closed from Rancho Palos Verdes in Los Angeles County to Sunset Beach in Orange County. The Polar Bear Swim, which attracts hundreds of people to Cabrillo Beach every New Year’s Day, was canceled.
This was the largest spillage in four decades. Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, which serve more than 5 million people, said Bryan Langpap, an agency spokesman.
He said that the leak was caused by an older pipe, but that it was not immediately clear what the cause was.
Officials have been monitoring water quality at both onshore and offshore locations, but no data was available on Monday for release. Crews worked to create a permanent solution, he stated.
