Sewage Spills

Los Angeles County recorded 773 sewage spills last year, including 82 of more than 1,000 gallons, according to a county report made public Wednesday. The annual totals are the first since a scathing county audit more than a year ago faulted city, county and state agencies for failing to adequately report raw sewage spills. In 2006, only 26 spills were reported. The latest totals were included in a report by the county's auditor-controller, who credited waste management agencies for improving their communication about spills with the county's Department of Public Health.

Crews working overnight were able to repair a 40-year-old steel-and-concrete pipe that burst in Guerneville, north of the Bay Area, sending 100,000 gallons or more of sewage into the Russian River. Officials say it is the biggest sewage spill into the Northern California river in at least a decade. About 40,000 gallons of sewage per hour generally flows through the 16-inch pipe, officials said. The leak near Branch and Orchard avenues started at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday and lasted about three hours.

Nearly 5,000 gallons of untreated sewage leaked into the Conejo Creek in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks on Friday morning, according to county health officials. The discharge occurred about a half mile upstream of the Hill Canyon sewage treatment plant. The county's Environmental Health Division advises the public to avoid contact with the affected areas for at least 72 hours.

Orange County health officials Wednesday closed portions of Huntington Harbour to swimmers and divers because of a sewage spill. The closures were issued for the south and west portions of the Huntington Beach community from Wayfare Lane to Warner Avenue, which includes the Humboldt and Davenport beaches. Officials said about 800 gallons of sewage spilled into the channel on New Year's Day from a storm drain on Heil Avenue and Algonquin Street.    ALSO: Jahi McMath's family battles hospital over brain-dead girl 'Sunrise at the Oasis' wins Sweepstakes prize at Rose Parade Same-sex wedding occurs without incident on Rose Parade float     Twitter: @latvives ruben.vives@latimes.com

Underground and unnoticed, the potential multi-city calamities awaiting California due to rolling blackouts cannot be ignored: namely, the pump stations our waste-water systems rely upon. Every town has a series of these devices, similar to a ship's bilge pump, to assist the millions of gallons of sewage on their way for treatment. Gravity can do only so much, and the city of Laguna Beach provides a shocking example of how little time and money has been invested in anticipation of these energy fluctuations over the years.

Orange County health officials on Tuesday closed a portion of Huntington Harbour because of a sewage spill. The closure affects Christiana Bay between Fisher and Morning Star drives. Also, 300 feet of beach on both sides of the Santa Ana River along Huntington State Beach and Newport Beach remains closed because of a sewage spill. That closure began last week. The closures will be in effect until testing shows that the water is safe.

Authorities closed the harbor to swimmers Tuesday because of a broken line at a sewage pump-out station for boaters. An undetermined amount of sewage spilled into the harbor, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. The area will remain closed until tests show the water is safe for swimmers.

A sewage spill closed a portion of the bay in Newport Beach on Wednesday to swimmers and divers, health officials said. The water at N Street Beach on the Balboa Peninsula was declared off-limits after about 100 gallons of sewage was discharged from a ruptured line, said Larry Honeybourne of the county Health Care Agency. The rupture occurred after roots and paper from the city's sewage collection system blocked the lines, he said.

Just in time for the Fourth of July weekend, health officials Thursday reopened most of the 25 miles of beaches that had been closed by a giant sewage spill. Four miles of beach remained closed. The reopened beaches included popular tourist spots like Miami Beach's South Beach and the beach at Bal Harbour. The millions of gallons of sewage that spewed from a ruptured underwater pipe have been swept away by ocean currents, health officials said.

Orange County's largest sanitation district was fined $107,500 for a June sewer spill that sent nearly 60,000 gallons of untreated human waste into the Pacific Ocean off Seal Beach. The spill, which occurred June 9 in La Habra, was caused by a repair work error, said Kurt Berchtold, assistant executive officer with the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board.

The Upper Newport Bay, usually buzzing with kayakers and outdoor enthusiasts, remains closed to swimming and other recreational uses after a sewage spill. The closure includes Newport Dunes, a popular recreation and swimming area. The sewage spill was reported Saturday. Any updates will be posted on the Orange County Health Care Agency's website . ALSO: Balboa Pier remains closed after being slammed by boat Vincent Thomas Bridge will close Labor Day morning for marathon 10 in hospital after tour bus crash on way to San Diego County casino gale.holland@latimes Twitter: @geholland

On the last big weekend of the summer, bay waters from the Upper Newport Bay to Newport Dunes remain closed to swimming, diving and other recreational uses because of a sewage spill, officials said Sunday. The closure was ordered after a spill Saturday and remains in effect until further notice. Any updates will be posted on Orange County's ocean water protection program site . ALSO: Weather to cool for Labor Day, then heat up  Yosemite fire in the top ten; what are the other nine?

A 600-foot stretch of Mariposa Street Beach in San Clemente has been closed due to a sewage spill, officials said Tuesday afternoon. The area will be closed until further notice, the Orange County Health Care Agency said. Officials with the agency also reported Tuesday that bacteria levels had exceeded health standards at three other beaches in Newport Bay, Dana Point and San Clemente. In Newport Bay, high levels of bacteria were detected at Sapphire Street Beach and at Bayside Drive Beach on Balboa Island.

WASHINGTON - The heavy rains and strong winds have eased here, but officials remain concerned about flooding from the Potomac River and widespread power outages. After Monday's heavy rain in the District of Columbia broke a record set in 1885, officials said they were keeping a close eye on the Potomac.  "There are a lot of the smaller streams that flow into the Potomac, a lot of them that are flooded right now," Jason Elliott, a National Weather Service meteorologist, told the Los Angeles Times.

The long-time public face of Heal the Bay, one of California's leading and most influential environmental advocacy groups, is stepping down after nearly a quarter of a century with the Santa Monica-based nonprofit. Mark Gold, president of the environmental group focused on the health of Santa Monica Bay and waters up and down the West Coast, is leaving to accept a position as associate director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, where he has taught as an adjunct professor and serves on its board.

Health officials Friday afternoon reopened beaches near Ballona Creek to swimmers and surfers, two days after they were closed because of a major sewage spill. Testing showed bacteria levels in the water within normal ranges for two days in a row, so lifeguards on Friday began removing closure signs from two miles of coastline south of the creek outlet, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The closures were ordered after a clog in a sewer main caused a manhole near Centinela Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard to overflow Wednesday, discharging an estimated 500,000 gallons of raw sewage into a storm drain that leads to Ballona Creek and, eventually, the Pacific Ocean.

A raw-sewage spill upstream from Seal Beach has forced closure of more than a quarter-mile of the shoreline, the largest discharge of untreated waste in Orange County this year, officials said Tuesday. A blocked line caused 84,000 gallons of sewage to leak Sunday near Melrose Street and West Crowther Avenue in Placentia, said Larry Honeybourne, program chief of the county Health Care Agency's water quality section.

Two sewage spills caused by roots blocking lines have forced the closure of the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club Marina in Newport Beach and 600 feet of Poche Beach in San Clemente. The first spill involved about 500 gallons of raw sewage in Newport Beach. The second involved about 75 gallons from the Shore Cliff Villas apartment complex in San Clemente. The closures are expected to last at least three days.

A major sewage spill that has closed a two-mile stretch of beach near Marina del Rey released about 500,000 gallons of raw sewage into a storm drain that runs to Ballona Creek and eventually spills into the ocean, authorities said. The spill ranks among the worst in the last two years along the Los Angeles County coastline. The beach will probably remain closed for three days. Residents reported a manhole overflowing with sewage near Centinela Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Ron Charles, spokesman for the Los Angeles Public Works Department.