10K Gallons Of Sewage Leaks Into Newport Harbor, Prompting Closures

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — The water in several Newport Beach bay channels was off-limits to swimmers Monday due to a sewage spill from an Orange County Sanitation District line, the Orange County Register reported.

The leak was initially reported at around 9:45 p.m. Friday by the Newport Beach Police Department, who said that a resident had witnessed what looked like a "broken sprinkler in a parkway that smelled like sewage," district spokesperson Jennifer Cabral told the OC Register.

According to the report, Orange County Sanitation District workers responded and found there was a sewage leak before immediately switching the sewage from one main force to another.

“Once the sewage was switched to the other force main the leak stopped. The spill was reported, contained and cleaned up within a few hours,” Cabral told the OC Register.

Original estimations for the spill's volume were reported to be under 28,000 gallons. Those numbers were updated by the Office of Emergency Services, and the spill's volume is expected to be about 10,615 gallons.

The spill prompted the Orange County Health Care Agency to issue closures 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. The projection of Pacific Coast Highway and Tustin Avenue was also deemed off-limits, reports said.

To learn more about the sewage spill that leaks into Newport Harbor on Friday, read the full article on the Orange County Register.