DOWNEY, Calif. (KNX) – Long Beach closed all its beaches after roughly 250,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled into the L.A. River, officials said.
The spill occurred Thursday morning after equipment used by the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts malfunctioned, which led to a temporary blockage in the sewer.
“Starting at 9:40 a.m., this blockage caused sewage to overflow into the street at Burns Avenue and Rives Avenue in Downey,” Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts said.
While the spill was contained around 11:20 a.m., an estimated “250,000 gallons of sewage reached the Los Angeles River before our crews could fully contain the sewage that spilled into a local storm drain,” according to the agency.
In the wake of the incident, Long Beach City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis ordered all open coastal swimming areas to be closed for water contact.
The city’s Health Department's Recreational Water Quality Health Inspection Team will monitor the water quality, according to City News Service.
The spill comes on the heels of Los Angeles facing a $21.7 million fine for the 2021 sewage spill at the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant.
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