EDITORIAL: Work is down the drain

Laguna Beach is reeling from a staggering half-million-gallon sewage spill that closed a 4-mile stretch of beach to swimming from 2:30 a.m. Wednesday through at least today.

It’s believed to be the biggest spill in Southern California since a 2-million-gallon sewage leak in Manhattan Beach two years ago.

It certainly is the largest since the last “big” spill in Laguna, only six months ago, April 17, which closed the Coast Highway for 24 hours when a valve in the North Coast Interceptor “” the main line for the area “” failed.

That leak sent a paltry 58,000 gallons onto the beach near Diamond Street.

Since then, work has proceeded on various fronts in the constant effort to keep the sewers functioning.

The Bluebird Canyon pump station that failed this time was actually undergoing improvements, and city officials are trying to figure out what went wrong that caused the facility to go awry.

A consultant has been hired, and the sitting mayor and mayor pro tem have been brought into the circle.

This isn’t a new situation in Laguna, which had its head thumped in the late 1990s by the state Environmental Protection Agency over a slew of sewage spills, and has spent $10 million over the years on sewer improvements and other measures to try to staunch the leaks.

The city is in a difficult position with respect to its sewers. It sits on the coast at the edge of a burgeoning metropolis to the east; its topography isn’t friendly, and its own needs are great.

This recent incident is particularly embarrassing for Laguna, which just last year was lauded for its efforts and the cleanliness of its swimming waters by being named a “Beach Buddy” by the well-respected Natural Resources Defense Council.

Now that designation is being made into a mockery and the city is back to square one in its fight to be seen as “clean” and “green.”

On Thursday morning, more than 24 hours after the spill, there was a general sewage stench in downtown Laguna Beach, but that didn’t stop folks from heading down to the beach, where volleyball was being played and runners were exercising “” amid yellow caution signs.

All this means that more money will be going down the drain.