New Sewage Spill Closes Part of Newport Bay

A section of Newport Bay close Tuesday after a small sewage spill, county health officials reported.

Around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Orange County Health Care Agency’s Ocean Water Protection Program issued a water warning for the bay water areas at the Balboa Yacht Club Docks, and on Balboa Island's East Bay Front from Park Avenue to South Bay Front. Details of the sewage spill were not immediately available, but health officials warned swimmers and divers to stay out of the water.

Tuesday's water closure is the second one in Newport Bay in less than a week.

On Thursday an approximately 2,800 gallon sewage spill caused by a line break closed the bay water area at Bayside Drive from the Balboa Island Bridge at Marine Avenue, to Harbor Patrol Beach and the East Bay Front of Balboa Island, according to county health spokeswoman Tricia Landquist.

The line break was caused by dredging equipment in the harbor that grabbed onto and broke the primary sewer line that serves all of Balboa Island, city officials reported. The water warning was lifted on Sunday.