Sewage spill shuts California beaches

MONTEREY, California — About 19 million litres of sewage spilled into the ocean on California’s central coast after a filter at a water treatment plant became clogged and the computer system failed to sound an alarm, an official said Monday, forcing several popular beaches to close.

The spill at the facility in the city of Marina started Friday night and an operator stopped it about eight hours later on Saturday morning, Monterey One Water general manager Paul Sciuto said.

“A number of alarms did not get to the operator because of a computer communications failure, but we still don’t know what caused it,” he said.

Environmental health officials closed at least seven beaches, many with silvery sands or rocky outcrops that offer beautiful vistas and are busy with surfers, dog walkers and picnickers. They sit in a peninsula that includes the towns of Pebble Beach, Monterey and Carmel, which attract tourists and golfers from around the world.

Among the most popular is Lovers Point, a wedding spot that is also used for fishing, swimming and water sports.

Shawn Johnson, director of veterinary science at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, said young mammals are at greatest risk from the raw sewage, but harbour seals won’t give birth in the area until May. The area also is home to sea otters.

“We’re keeping an eye out for any marine mammals that might be affected by this spill, and at this point, we haven’t recovered or rescued any,” he said.

Lab samples were taken Sunday to determine if the area about 160 kilometres south of San Francisco is safe, and results were expected by Monday night, Sciuto said.