A sewage spill in downtown Los Angeles flowed into the L.A. River on Monday and prompted officials in Long Beach to shut down the city’s beaches.
Advertisement
Dr. Mauro Torno, the acting health officer for Long Beach, made a decision to shut down swimming along the coast until tests show the water is safe.
The spill was stopped by about 11 p.m.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) – At least 1.5 million gallons of sewage spewed from a 90-year-old pipe that burst in an industrial area near downtown Los Angeles, leading beaches to close 20 miles downriver in Long Beach, officials said Tuesday.
An estimated 108,000 gallons of sewage have poured from a broken pipe by the time Long Beach officials declared the beach closures. Kerr said beaches were shut down as a precaution and would remain closed until testing shows the water as safe.
The leak was finally stopped at 10 p.m., but crews remained at the site to fix the cracked pipe, said Adel Hagekhalil, assistant director of Los Angeles Sanitation.
Advertisement
Long Beach officials learned of the spill in the late afternoon, according to Nelson Kerr with the Long Beach Health Department.
