2,000 Gallons of Sewage Spill at Batiquitos Lagoon

Crews were working to repair a broken pipe that caused about 2,000 gallons of sewage to spill into Batiquitos Lagoon Sunday, and city officials asked area residents to reduce their indoor water use through Monday to help speed up the repairs.

The spill was reported about 8 a.m. and county health officials posted signs around the coastal wetlands area near the Carlsbad-Encinitas city line warning of the contamination, according to the county's Department of Environmental Health.

Those signs will remain in place until samples confirm the water is safe for recreational use, DEH officials said.

About a quarter-mile of the trail east of Gabbiano Lane at the lagoon's west end was closed so City of Carlsbad Utilities Department employees could make repairs to the sewer pipe break at the Batiquitos pump station, according to city spokeswoman Kristina Ray. Other lagoon trail heads remained open.

Area residents were asked to reduce their indoor water use as much as possible through Monday to reduce the amount of wastewater flowing into the system. That included flushing toilets, doing laundry, taking showers and washing dishes, Ray said.

The 610-acre lagoon, one of the few remaining tidal wetlands on the Southern California coast, is run by the California Department of Fish and Game as a nature reserve, according to the Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation.

-City News Service

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