Seal Beach, Sunset Beach Remain Closed After Raw Sewage Spill

SEAL BEACH, CA —Several Orange county beaches remain closed to water activities. All beaches are under an ocean water warning due to high bacteria levels after the estimated 8.5 million gallons flowed into the ocean on Friday.

On Friday, a raw sewage spill released up to 8.5 million gallons of untreated waste into the Dominguez Channel. By Saturday, the Orange County Health Care Agency declared that swimming was forbidden from Seal Beach's Surfside Beach to Huntington Beach's Sunset Beach, health officials said. On Monday morning, all Orange County beaches were under an ocean water warning due to high bacteria levels.

Seal Beach and the beaches around the ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach have been closed since Friday.

Warning signs are posted for all Orange County beaches to the south, from Bolsa Chica to San Clemente State Beach.

The spill has affected beaches further south, encouraging the agency to launch ocean swimming advisories for shorelines to the south.

The exact amount of the spill is still in question, with estimates ranging from 2 million to 4 million gallons on the low end to as high as 8.5 million gallons of untreated sewage, according to health officials.

Health officials say that the beaches will not reopen for swimming, surfing, and other water-related activities until water quality levels meet acceptable standards.

Sanitation crews worked in Los Angeles and Long Beach to clean up the impacted areas, officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties said.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn asked for a full investigation into how the sewage spill occurred.

"A sewage spill of this magnitude is dangerous and unacceptable and we need to understand what happened," Hahn wrote in a statement released Friday. "The recent storm undoubtedly contributed to the spill, but we need infrastructure that doesn't fail when it rains. I am calling on L.A. County Sanitation Districts to do a full investigation into the cause of the spill and whether aging or faulty infrastructure was involved."

Information about Orange County ocean, bay and harbor postings and closures can be obtained by calling 714-433-6400 or www.OCBeachinfo.com.