Long Beach Water Sample Tests Clean After Sewage Spill, Official Says; 2nd Test Needed Before Reopening Beaches
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Long Beach official said Wednesday morning the first test of the city's ocean water following a sewage spill has come back clean.
Health department manager Nelson Kerr says the sample taken Tuesday shows no excessive levels of bacteria. Officials will wait for the results of a second test from Wednesday before they decide to reopen beaches to swimmers.
Kerr says the clean sample suggests sewage from Monday's burst pipe 20 miles upriver in Los Angeles didn't make it to Long Beach.
The pipe rupture near downtown Los Angeles spilled 2.4 million gallons of sewage.
An estimated 750,000 gallons were contained or vacuumed up, but officials feared some of the rest may have reached Long Beach harbor.
About 5 miles of Southern California beaches remain closed due to a pipeline rupture that spilled sewage into the Los Angeles River.
Closures still in effect Wednesday include about 4 miles of sand in the port city of Long Beach and a mile of coast to the south in neighboring Seal Beach.
The pipe rupture 20 miles north near downtown Los Angeles spilled 2.4 million gallons of sewage.
An estimated 750,000 gallons were contained or vacuumed up, but some of the rest may have reached Long Beach harbor.
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