All recreational beaches were closed in Alamitos Bay last week because of a sewage spill from a private system into the Cerritos Channel.
The spill was contained shortly after the city became aware of it on Sept. 30. Mother’s Beach was the first to be affected by the spill and was closed immediately.
“It honestly sucks that something like this could happen,” Cory Carrasco, a sophomore communications major, said.
According to Long Beach City Health Officer Mitchell Kushner, the spill resulted from the failure of a private homeowner’s association pump, causing sewage to overflow from manholes onto the street and flow into the channel. The pump normally pushes sewage from homes into the city system.
Kushner said that new safeguards will be discussed at a meeting with homeowners in hopes of preventing this problem from happening again. He also said the property owners were looking at a possible fine or corrective action because the same problem has occurred before.
The Long Beach Health Department conducted water tests every day from Monday to Saturday to see when beach visitors could safely swim in the water again.
Kushner said that clean tests on consecutive days were required to re-open beaches. All beaches re-opened Saturday, according to an automated call-in message from the Long Beach department of Health and Human Services.
“I’m glad the city took these precautions so no one comes into contact with the contaminated water and that they are using thorough testing to make sure the water is clean again,” senior communications major Amie Boonlikit said.
The spills also affected the Cal State Long Beach Crew Team, which normally rows in Alamitos Bay.
According to the team president of the men’s crew team, Yashar Rahimpour, the spill postponed one of the team’s races until the following weekend.
According to the city’s automated message regarding the spill, the water is clean again and no advisories are in effect.
“I am just glad that they were able to act quickly and try and get everything taken care of,” Carrasco said. “A lot of people go down to the beach, so the sooner it is taken care of the better.”