Part of Newport Harbor still closed to swimmers because of sewage spill

A portion of Newport Harbor in the 1900 block of Bayside Drive remains closed to divers and swimmers after sewage spilled into the waterway Friday morning.

At about 11 a.m., authorities discovered that a corroded line from a vessel pump had broken and leaked about 150 gallons sewage into the water between Bayside Drive Beach and the Newport Beach Harbor Patrol docks. Newport Beach crews stopped the leak and are working to repair the line, said Anthony Martinez, program manager for the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Martinez said the county agency didn’t close the beach until Monday because the city didn’t report the spill until that morning.

“The reporting didn’t happen as quickly as we would have hoped,” Martinez said.

Bayside Drive Beach around the Harbor Patrol docks will remain closed until the water quality meets state standards, Martinez said. Wednesday is the soonest the stretch could reopen, Martinez said.