Sewage spill likely to keep much of Huntington Harbour closed to swimmers through Labor Day, officials say

A sewage spill caused an ocean water closure at Huntington Harbour, probably through the long Labor Day weekend, the Orange County Health Care Agency said Thursday.

The water is closed to swimming, surfing and diving in affected areas of Anaheim Bay, Sunset Aquatic Marina, Portofino Cove, Anderson Street Marina and Admiralty Drive, health officials said. The site will be sampled early next week, according to Health Care Agency spokesman Anthony Martinez.

The spill, which totaled about 60,000 gallons of wastewater, originated with a sewage line backup in Stanton, officials said. Sewage flowed out a manhole and into a nearby storm drain.

The blocked sewage line was first reported at about 2 a.m. Thursday in the 10800 block of Dale Avenue, though the blockage — possibly caused by grease — was estimated to have started at about 10 p.m. Wednesday, the Health Care Agency said.

“The flow of the spill increased as the morning wore on and people started to wake up in the morning, taking showers and flushing toilets,” Martinez said. The volume increased “very rapidly until they were able to clear the blockage around 7 a.m. Thursday.”

The waste water drained into a catch basin near Sunset Aquatic Marina, Martinez said.

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