Encinitas
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About 75,000 gallons of raw sewage gushed into Batiquitos Lagoon early Wednesday morning after an electrical fire at the Batiquitos Lagoon Pump Station, a County Health Services Department spokeswoman said.
Workers at the pump station, which is near Old Highway 101 and La Costa Avenue in Leucadia, avoided a larger spill by activating a standby diesel pump that was able to handle most of the early-morning flow, spokeswoman Teri Beach said.
The pump station returned to normal operating procedures by late afternoon. The extent of the fire-related damage was not known.
The lagoon does not flow into the ocean and the spill is not expected to affect recreational water, Beach said.
Although the lagoon is not open to the public, it will be posted as off limits for at least two weeks as a precautionary measure.
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