Following a Tuesday morning sewage spill that sent about 876 gallons of sewage into the Long Beach storm system, eventually reaching Colorado Lagoon, authorities have prohibited all water contact in the area until further notice.
The spill occurred around 8:30am on Tuesday morning near the intersection of 3rd Street and Granada Ave. The Long Beach Water Department is still investigating the cause of the incident. The discharge is contained and crews are removing the blockage.
Regular water tests are being conducted in the lagoon to determine when the water will be safe again. Until then, the Colorado Lagoon beach is littered with closure signs and all water contact is prohibited.
Ironically, the improvement of Colorado Lagoon was one of Mayor Bob Foster’s talking points during his annual State of the City address last night.
“The Colorado Lagoon is on track to be cleaned up,” he told the crowd at downtown’s Terrace Theater. “A combination of persistence on the part of the Friends of the Colorado Lagoon and an infusion of federal and local funds have come together to create a project that will be used to increase tidal flow in the lagoon as well as improve the Termino storm drain. This will return the lagoon to a healthy recreational asset for the first time in 50 years, and protect the adjacent homes from the threat of flooding.”
First, though, they need to get the sewage out.