Sanitation District Is Fined for Sewage Spill
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LA HABRA — Orange County’s largest sanitation district was fined $107,500 for a June sewer spill that sent nearly 60,000 gallons of untreated human waste into the Pacific Ocean off Seal Beach.
The spill, which occurred June 9 in La Habra, was caused by a repair work error, said Kurt Berchtold, assistant executive officer with the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board. A contractor fixing a sewer line diverted the flow to a parallel line, which could handle the extra sewage during “low flow” hours, midnight to 6 a.m. But work continued past 6 a.m.
Workers captured about 1,000 gallons of sewage, but an additional 59,600 gallons spilled into a storm drain that dumped into Coyote Creek, which flows into the San Gabriel River. The sewage emptied into the Pacific Ocean at Seal Beach, forcing health officials to close a half-mile stretch of beach for three days.
The sanitation district can appeal the fine. If so, a public hearing will be held at the regional board’s Nov. 17 meeting in Huntington Beach.
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