Some beaches in Long Beach closed due to latest sewage spill

A sewage spill closed all swimming areas at beaches west of Belmont Pier in Long Beach, the city’s Health and Human Services Department said Tuesday, Feb. 1.

A grease blockage in neighboring Compton caused 12,000 gallons of sewage to flow into beach waters on Monday, Jan. 31.

According to the Health Department, the city learned from Los Angeles County Public Health and the state’s Office of Emergency Services that sewage overflowed from a manhole into the Los Angeles River late Monday night.

The Health Department said Tuesday that state laws require temporary closures at beaches until water quality can meet state standards.

⚠️PUBLIC NOTICE⚠️Our @LBHealthDept ordered all swimming areas west of Belmont Pier in Long Beach temporarily close for water contact due to a sewage spill. Approximately 12,000 gallons of sewage was discharged into the LA River on Jan. 31, according to @lapublichealth & @Cal_OES. pic.twitter.com/ZFk71W6w7T

— City of Long Beach (@LongBeachCity) February 1, 2022

Long Beach Health Department’s Recreational Water Quality health inspection team is monitoring water quality along the affected beach sites, the city said, and monitoring will continue until results match state water quality standards.

For more information, call the city’s water hotline at 562-570-4199 or visit the city’s website at longbeach.gov/beachwaterquality.

This isn’t the first sewage issue to close beaches along the coastline in Los Angeles County. In July 2021, the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant near El Segundo became inundated with debris that nearly crippled the plant.