Interim City Health Officer, Dr. Mauro Torno, has issued a beach closure order for all open coastal beaches west of the Belmont Pier. The order was issued due to a raw sewage spill estimated at approximately 5,500 gallons that occurred late Saturday in the Arroyo Seco area of South Pasadena (approximately 30 miles from Long Beach). The sewage release has been controlled by Los Angeles County Sanitation crews and is no longer active. The cause was due to a sewer system blockage.
The City’s Health Department has posted the affected areas with closure signs. All recreational water contact activity will be prohibited in these areas until re-opened by the City’s Health Officer. The Health Department will be conducting daily bacterial testing of potentially impacted areas until results are within State standards, at which point the beaches will be reopened for recreational swimming activities. State Health and Safety laws require the local health officer to close swimming beaches where there is a risk of contamination from a known sewage spill. The spill occurred in an area of Pasadena where the storm drain system flows into the Los Angeles River, which enters the ocean at Long Beach.
Additional information about the water quality in Long Beach may be obtained from the Department of Health and Human Services Water Quality Information Line 562-570-4199, or from www.longbeach.gov/health.