Newport bay waters reopened following sewage spill

Several Newport Beach bay channels, closed over the weekend by a sewage spill, were reopened Monday afternoon following testing by the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Swimmers, surfers and divers were allowed back in after a sewage spill that Orange County Sanitation District officials said was attributed to a forcemain leak.

Orange County Sanitation District spokeswoman Jennifer Cabral said the organization was notified Friday at 9:45 p.m. by the Newport Beach Police Department that a resident had called in what looked like a broken sprinkler in the parkway. It smelled like sewage.

OCSD crew responded and determined that there was a sewage leak, and immediately switched the sewage from one forcemain to the other.

“We have two 16 inch forcemains in that area,” Cabral said in an email. “Once the sewage was switched to the other forcemain, the leak stopped. The spill was reported, contained and cleaned up within a few hours.”

Cabral said the spill was estimated at 10,615 gallons. The district will be conducting an assessment of the pipeline in which there was the leak to determine what repair will be required, she added.

The closure affected the water in all west Newport Bay channels between 33rd and 43rd streets, as well as the bay water area east of the Newport Boulevard Bridge to the Lido Isle bridge, along with the projection of Pacific Coast Highway and Tustin Avenue.

Bacteria levels up and down the Orange County coast were labeled “yellow” during Tuesday’s rainstorm on ocbeachinfo.com, meaning the bacteria levels exceed state health standards and may cause illness. Beaches were no longer labeled “red,” however, their designation when ocean water is closed due to sewage or contaminated water.

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