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Laguna and Newport top 2008 beach closures in county report

July 7th, 2009, 11:20 am · 9 Comments · posted by

Laguna Beach had the largest sewage spills in 2008, while Newport Beach had the most swimming closures, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency’s yearly water-quality report.

2008 O.C. beach health snapshot

Still, sewage spills in Orange County dropped for the sixth year in a row and are at their lowest since 2000, part of a continuing trend toward cleaner beaches.

 ”There is much more awareness of spill prevention now amongst Orange County cities, and this probably contributes to the improvements we see for beach health,” said Larry Honeybourne, director of the county’s Ocean Water Protection Program.

The number of spills due to private property sewer problems also has decreased each year since 2005, although they caused 44 percent of beach closures in 2008.

The report is publicly available on the agency’s Web site.

In Laguna, a November 2008 pump station failure released 590,000 gallons of sewage and forced 10.6 “beach mile days” in closures. The measurement multiplies the miles of beach closed by the number of days of closure;  most closures in 2008 were less than half a beach mile day.

lagspillgocNewport Beach accounted for 55 percent of all 2008 closures, totaling about six beach mile days. Root intrusion has been the biggest problem, said Ed Burt, operations manager for the utility department. “To be proactive, we have been spending $85,000 a year to spray root-killing foam around our sewer pipes, and we regularly inspect our system with remote video cameras to anticipate problems.”

But the city cannot easily detect grease clogs produced by restaurants on private property, says Burt. By county code, restaurants must install grease interceptors and receive inspection visits. Yet some restaurants do not install interceptors or do not regularly clean them. Three of the Newport Beach closures were caused by grease clogs.

Line breaks and clogs can cause sewage to overflow into rivers, bays, and storm drains, flushing disease-causing bacteria into coastal waters and making beaches unsafe for swimmers. Breaks caused by overgrown tree roots and clogs caused by food-grease buildup are the most common causes of spills.

By state law, the agency’s Ocean Water Protection Program conducts water quality tests weekly at the county’s most popular beaches. When tests fail to meet water-quality standards, the beach receives a “posting” warning swimmers of high bacteria levels. If a sewage spill has been detected nearby, the beach is closed.

Health care agency officials analyzed more than 5,000 water samples from 150 beach sites,  Honeybourne said.

A 2007 study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and UCLA examined the economic effect of beach closures. Using the 2.5 mile stretch of Huntington State Beach as an example, the researchers estimated losses over $46,000 to the local economy for each full day of closure.

 Tips: Protecting sewer lines

- Don’t dump fats and oils, like bacon grease, down the drain. Pour oils in sealable jars and wipe off the rest with paper towels or coffee grounds.
- Don’t dispose of paper towels in the toilet, even if advertised as flushable.
- Don’t grind up eggshells in garbage disposals. Shells can settle out and form blockages with sand and other grit.

Sources: Orange County Sanitation District; City of Newport Beach; Ocean Waters Protection Program.

 (Register photo of Laguna Beach during October 29 closure by Ken Steinhardt.)

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     9 Comments

    • ocbear says:
      July 7, 2009 at 12:53 pm

      The city sewer dept responds fast. Our neighbor was emptying their swimming pool onto their grass in their huge back yard (as you’re supposed to, re-use the water for landscaping) and after the ground got saturated it ran into the drain canal. The city thought maybe there is a break in a pipe. So they almost tried to break through the gate to get to the back yard to see what’s going on. This was only a couple hours after the water started to overflow in the canal. After they saw that it was just a swimming pool, and verified it was not a break, they left.

      • Ben Young Landis says:
        July 7, 2009 at 1:11 pm

        Thanks for commenting, ocbear. What city do you live in?

        The county also encourages citizens to report possible leaks or breaks, so they can head off any real spills. You can contact the Ocean Water Protection Program at these numbers:

        To report a sewage spill during normal business hours (8:00 am to 5:00 pm), call: (714) 433-6419

        To report a sewage spill AFTER normal business hours, on weekends or holidays, call: (714) 628-7008

        To report a bather illness or if you have any other questions, during business hours call: (714) 433-6280

    • RandyBalboa says:
      July 7, 2009 at 1:21 pm

      Newport has a very smart water quality team and management group, and Laguna is also very active. Old pipes, uninformed residents and visitors need more knowledge, plus we tend to add new pipes to the system without replacing the old. Tree roots are a big issue in Laguna.
      This is just the sewage part, now our coastal fishes, mammals, and birds are contaminated with toxics (DDT,DDE,PCB’s,mercury and copper) .
      So do we keep building, or slow growth and fix aging sewage and storm water infrastructure?

    • Jc says:
      July 7, 2009 at 1:43 pm

      those sewage are NOT far enough from shores.

      And when I go to the beach (ritz-Carlton) I see on top of the cliff big over-prices homes with the sewage right next to them…And I think how grotesques are the sellers, and buyers of those homes smelling crap all year around.

    • Jake says:
      July 7, 2009 at 2:14 pm

      Of course Laguna would be on the list. All the poop in Laguna gets stopped up….

      You can see the sewage in the sand at Main Beach too….

    • mark says:
      July 7, 2009 at 3:47 pm

      The fines for sewage spills into the ocean should be so high that they actually cost more in fines than it costs to NOT DUMP. Why else would so many gallons of sewage “accidentally” end up on the beaches every year? Let’s start at $2M per “accident” and see how many occur. I guess close to zero.

    • David says:
      July 8, 2009 at 6:09 am

      Amazing..people spend millions to live near the beach, which is becoming an evergrowing cesspool as we destroy the So CA coastline with pollution.

    • Storm Drains are NOT Sewers says:
      July 8, 2009 at 9:49 am

      Ben -

      You might want to consider a story educating the public about the difference between storm drains (from water runoff that occurs OUTSIDE the home) and sewers (from water that is flushed or drained from INSIDE the home).

      The water in the sewer system is treated before being released to the ocean. The water from the storm drain system is not – it runs right into the creek, then river, then ocean.

      That means all the oil, litter, grass clippings, pet waste etc. you see in on the streets, in the parkways or in the gutter today will end up in the ocean tomorrow.

      • Ben Young Landis says:
        July 8, 2009 at 12:28 pm

        Thanks — you’re absolutely right. In southern California, sewer and storm drains are separate systems.

        The O.C. Watershed and Coastal Resources office has more on this:
        http://www.ocwatersheds.com/stormwater/swp_stencils.asp

        They recommend that we:

        * Don’t dump waste in storm drains.
        * Keep yard clippings out of the street.
        * Dispose of household chemicals properly-follow the directions on the package for proper disposal guidelines and locations.
        * Clean up oil spills and fix leaking automobiles.
        * Sweep driveways clean instead of hosing them down.

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