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San Gabriel sewage spill prompts beach closure in Long Beach
Environment Jan 04, 2024
| Photo courtesy of Dawn McDonald/Unsplash
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Swimming areas west of Belmont Shore are temporarily closed for water contact Thursday because of a sewage spill in San Gabriel, Long Beach City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis said.
About 15,000 gallons of sewage spilled into Rubio Wash which leads to the Los Angeles River, according to a report received early Wednesday afternoon from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
A grease blockage in the San Gabriel sewer main line caused the spill, the report said.
While the origin of the spill is more than 25 miles away, the sewage will eventually make its way to Long Beach shores via the Los Angeles River, Davis said.
State law requires temporary closure and posting at beaches in these situations, out of an abundance of caution, until the water quality meets state requirements, Davis said.
Long Beach Health Department’s Recreational Water Quality health inspection team is monitoring water quality along the affected beach sites and will continue to do so until results meet the state water quality standards, Davis said.
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