A bit of dookie in the water kept visitors away from some Orange County beaches during the Fourth of July weekend. Photo: Trac Vu//Unsplash
Orange County officials reopened a stretch of Laguna Beach, California coastline on Sunday after a sewage leak prompted several days of closure over a busy holiday weekend. High bacteria levels closed one of the city’s popular surf spots, Thalia Street.
According to an article in the OC Register, on Thursday, July 2, between 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., as many as 2,000 gallons of sewage leaked from a construction site at the Anita Street staircase in Laguna Beach. The city attributed the accident to a “malfunction of a force main sewer line pump.”
The contractor responsible for the work site returned after hours to fix the failed parts.
“We recognize this is disappointing for residents and visitors enjoying the holiday weekend, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience,” the City of Laguna Beach said in a statement. “The issue has been resolved, and the City is working closely with the Orange County Health Care Agency to safely reopen the affected area.”
As a result, beaches were closed for a quarter mile in each direction of the spill. At 12:30 p.m. on July 4, the Orange County Health Agency posted an update that it reduced the closure to 370 feet in each direction of the incident. Then, on Sunday, July 5, the agency announced bacteria levels were low enough to lift all closures.
The spill doesn’t appear to have affected surrounding beaches. Main Beach, just a half mile north of the spill, received an “A+” bacteria rating from beachreportcard.org on July 3.
