Long Beach Coast West of Belmont Pier Reopened

Updates with correction on procedure in the event of a spill:

The shorefront of Long Beach west of the Belmont Pier was reopened Wednesday after city health officials ruled it free of contaminants from a weekend L.A. sewage spill. And they said it wasn't clear if sewage ever reached city beaches.

On Sunday, more than 5,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled city of L.A. pipes in the Highland Park neighborhood and flowed into the Los Angeles River. That empties in the Port of Long Beach, but the City Manager's Office said there was no evidence that the beach was ever contaminated.

Anytime there is a spill into the L.A. River, the city of Long Beach is required by the state to automatically close beaches, and did so Monday. The procedure is that testing then commences by the city health department to ensure there's no contamination.

The City Manager's Office released the following bulletin to the media:

Interim City Health Officer, Mauro Torno, MD, announced today that the beach closure affecting Long Beach’s open coastal beaches west of Belmont Pier has been lifted following laboratory tests confirming bacteria levels at all sampling locations are within State standards. Samples were collected along the entire open coastline on Monday and Tuesday mornings. Both sets of sample results showed no indication of contamination from the spill.

The Health Department collected water samples along the open coastline following the spill, which occurred on Saturday afternoon. The spill, estimated at 5,500 gallons, was due to a blockage in a Los Angeles City controlled line. As a point of clarification, the spill originated in the City of Los Angeles, not South Pasadena as originally reported. The spill entered the Los Angeles River, which empties into Long Beach waters approximately 30 miles away.

State Regulations require the Health Officer to close, post and test beaches if there is a suspected sewage spill in waters adjacent to any public beach.  Beaches must remain closed until the water is tested and it is demonstrated to be within State standards.  

Water quality monitoring will continue to be performed by the Health Department’s Recreational Water Quality Program on a weekly basis. Further 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.