Seal Beach is Closed Until Further Notice Due to 2.4 Million Gallon Sewage Spill

SEAL BEACH, CA — Swimming at Seal Beach is off limits until further notice, thanks to over 2.4 million gallons of raw, untreated sewage that spilled from a ruptured pipe near downtown Los Angeles.

The sewage spill cascaded from LA down to the coastline. Aging pipes are the presumed reason for the breakage, according to reports from City of Los Angeles's Sanitation Department.

Now, all coastal beaches in Long Beach and a portion of Seal Beach remain off limits to swimmers and surfers today due to overwhelming health hazard. Beaches in Seal Beach were closed from the San Gabriel River Mouth to Anaheim Bay, according to the county Health Care Agency.

Long Beach’s coast is not likely to open until Thursday morning at the earliest according to a report from Nelson Kerr, Long Beach’s environmental health bureau manager reported by the Orange County Register.

Though the bacteria levels are of main concern, officials are also monitoring for waste which thus far has not washed up onto the coastline.

Swimming in bacteria filled water can cause eye infections, problems affecting ears, nose and throat, and gastrointestinal ailments. Long Beach city officials stated that sewage from the broken pipe entered the Los Angeles River, which carried it to the ocean.

As of this afternoon, an estimated 2.4 million gallons had spilled from the pipe, according to the Los Angeles Department of Public Works. Reports from city sanitation state that the sewage was continuing to flow while emergency repairs were being conducted.

"About 750,000 gallons of spilled sewage had been recaptured," Adel Hagekhalil, assistant director of city sanitation, said. "Officials were still working to determine exactly how much had spilled."

According to public works officials, the top of a sewer pipe collapsed at about 2 p.m. Monday at Sixth Street and Mission Road.

Debris from the collapse fell into the pipe, causing the overflow.

Dr. Mauro Torno, acting health officer for the city of Long Beach,ordered the beach closure, saying the ocean water will be off limits until testing shows the water is safe.

Meanwhile, repair crews in Los Angeles continued work to expedite repairs, saying they were performing work that normally takes two weeks, and hoped to have it completed within 24 hours. Crews were installing a pair of 18-inch-diameter pipes along with pumps as a bypass system.

"We're confident that by this afternoon we should have everything contained,'' Hagekhalil said. "This is an old sewer, an aging sewer that was planned to be repaired."

The city of Los Angeles has a "good record" according to Hagekhalil.

"We spent over $2 billion in the last 10 years in (upgrading) our sewers," he said. "There are approximately 6,700 miles of sewer lines across the city, and "we haven't had a major collapse for a long, long time.''

With a major surfing competition ramping up on July 23, the fate of the water opening up for swimming remains in question through the end of this week.

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