Sewage Spill Stopped; Beaches in Long Beach, Seal Beach Still Closed

LONG BEACH, CA — With temperatures rising thanks to a looming heat wave, beaches remained closed in Long Beach and parts of Seal Beach on Wednesday thanks to a sewage spill near downtown Los Angeles that drained into the ocean, but sanitation officials said the leak has been stopped.

An estimated 2.4 million gallons spilled from the pipe, which collapsed at about 2 p.m. Monday at Sixth Street and Mission Road in Boyle Heights. Although about 750,000 gallons of sewage were captured by sanitation crews, some of it spilled into the Los Angeles River, carrying it to the ocean in Long Beach.

Long Beach health officials banned swimming and surfing at all beaches until water tests show there's no bacterial contamination in the water. Beaches in Seal Beach were closed from the San Gabriel River Mouth to Anaheim Bay, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Long Beach officials said initial water testing conducted Wednesday came back mostly clean, but additional tests will be conducted to ensure there is no health threat.

Meanwhile, work continued to clean the messy spill site in Boyle Heights. According to the Los Angeles Department of Public Works, the flow of sewage from the ruptured pipe was stopped Tuesday afternoon, thanks to the installation of temporary pumping and an upstream diversion system, followed by a permanent sewer bypass.

Environmental cleanup work is being conducted in the area to sanitize the streets affected by the spill. The cleanup work is being done between Mission Road and Clarence Street, between Fifth and Jesse streets.

"The streets and sidewalks within those boundaries, as well as the impacted storm drains and channels to the Los Angeles River, are being pressure- washed and sanitized," according to the Department of Public Works.

The cause of the rupture was still being investigated. The pipe that failed was installed in 1929.

"This is an old sewer, an aging sewer that was planned to be repaired," Adel Hagekhalil, assistant director of city sanitation, said Tuesday. "... This one, we had a plan and it did not wait for us, it collapsed. Our record is very good in the city of Los Angeles. ... We spent over $2 billion in the last 10 years in (upgrading) our sewers."

He said there are about 6,700 miles of sewer lines across the city, and "we haven't had a major collapse for a long, long time."

— City News Service, photo via Shutterstock