Tests clean, but beaches stay closed after LA sewage spill

LONG BEACH, Calif. – There is no sign that a huge sewage spill in downtown Los Angeles reached the ocean 20 miles away, but the waters off Long Beach and parts of neighbouring Seal Beach will remain closed at least until another round of tests comes back clean on Thursday.

The first sample taken showed no excessive levels of bacteria, Nelson Kerr of the Long Beach health department said Wednesday.

“It doesn’t look like we’re impacted by the spill,” Kerr said. “This initial round of testing looks really good, for the most part.”

About 4 miles of coastline in Long Beach and a mile in neighbouring Seal Beach will be closed until a sample taken Wednesday shows it’s safe.

A buried pipe near downtown Los Angeles collapsed Monday, causing a blockage and spill of 2.4 million gallons of raw sewage onto streets and into storm drains that feed into the river.

Crews managed to contain, divert or vacuum at least 750,000 gallons and the rest flowed into the river, officials said.

The sewage leak was initially capped Monday night, but another rupture occurred during repairs. It was finally stopped Tuesday and an above-ground bypass system was being built so repairs and cleanup could get underway, said Adel Hagekhalil, assistant director of Los Angeles Sanitation.

The 1929 concrete, tiled-lined pipe that broke was 18 feet underground, Hagekhalil said.

The cause of the collapse wasn’t clear.