Sewer repairs continue

All beaches in Laguna Beach have reopened following a major sewage spill April 17 that leaked about 58,000 gallons of waste onto more than 1.5 miles of coastline from downtown Laguna south over a five-day period.

Crews worked feverishly for three days to stop the sewage leak in the North Coast Interceptor, the city’s main sewage pipe, finally accomplishing their goal early Saturday.

The cause was a faulty air release valve clamp on South Coast Highway between Center and Diamond streets that stymied crews during multiple repair attempts; it finally was replaced early Saturday morning.

The city will install a permanent new air release valve next week at the spill site; some temporary lane closures are expected to begin today as they prepare the site, said Assistant City Manager John Pietig.

From Monday through May 1, one southbound lane will be closed from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and one northbound lane will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“In order to make the repair, we have to cut off what remains of the vault roof, install a new air release valve, backfill a portion of the vault to protect the equipment from corrosion, install a new lid on the vault, and repave the area,” Pietig wrote in a press release Thursday afternoon.

The city is inspecting other similar clamps, and is developing a plan to replace two other clamps similar to the one that failed last week, Pietig said.

County health officials reopened the last remaining closed stretch of ocean Wednesday morning, after water samples tested clean for E. coli and other contaminants.

No backflow or crossflow problems were reported.

The city’s top brass spent last Friday working on the spill that left a half-mile stretch of highway a virtual ghost town for more than 24 hours.

Parts of Glenneyre Street, Catalina Street and the perpendicular streets in the spill area closed that day, requiring locals and out-of-towners to weave through narrow back roads and creating major traffic jams.

Crews made several attempts to repair the faulty clamp beginning Thursday.

Many crew members worked more than 30 hours without sleep, Division Fire Chief Jeff LaTendresse said.

The situation began about 3:30 p.m. Thursday, when the clamp failed and spilled about 6,500 gallons of raw waste onto the highway and into the ocean at Agate Street, City Manager Ken Frank said.

Crews were able to control the leak by about 5:30 p.m., but by that time, 50 gallons per minute of waste were coursing down the highway’s gutters.

“It’s a problem, but it’s not a catastrophic problem,” LaTendresse said April 18. “The pipe is still flowing at 90% of its normal flow.”

The pipe itself was not damaged.

Surfer and Coastline Pilot columnist James Pribram was at his parents’ house overlooking Anita Street Beach Thursday when he noticed the gray, murky sewage gushing across the sand.

“Something bad just happened,” he told them.

He described the rush of waste as like a broken fire hydrant.

Pribram formerly served on the city’s environmental committee, and said the sewer system was a constant topic of conversation.

“It was always about the North Coast Interceptor,” Pribram said. “Everyone said that thing was going to blow.”

The highway remained shut down overnight, while crews from a variety of agencies, including the county health department, Caltrans, State Fish and Game and the Orange County Fire Authority’s Hazardous Materials Team, worked around the clock.

“They’ve got more safety people than you can imagine,” Frank said.

Ristorante Rumari Italiano and other area establishments fed hungry, tired workers.

Electrical and water crews were also working in the area, but by coincidence, Frank said.

Repair attempts were performed between high water use periods, such as when people showered before work and school.

On April 18, vacuum trucks were backed into an area behind yellow and red hazardous material warning tape, where they were filled with waste from the pipe in order to relieve its pressure.

Cases of hazardous material suits from San Onofre and other locations sat nearby.

Several thousand gallons flowed out during each attempt to repair the leak.

Officials shut down the Bluebird Pump Station in an attempt to relieve pressure to the main where the faulty clamp is located, so the repair could be conducted.

The area immediately surrounding the sewage pump station was temporarily evacuated.

But during the balancing act, just before the station was to be shut down, the waste leaked into the ocean off Bluebird Street.

“It was a small price to pay,” LaTendresse said, compared to the prospect of South Coast Highway being covered in raw sewage.

After a new clamp was attached to the pipe, part of it began to fail, leading to the decision to shut down the station and make another repair.

Several businesses remained closed April 18.

Scott Thompson, owner of the Sweetwater Hand Car Wash, said he would have serviced 170 cars that day, but he was happy to lend his property to the city, which turned it into a temporary command station.

Frank said the city has spent more than $15 million updating its sewer system in the past seven years; this is the first spill that has caused a beach closure since November 2006.

When spilled sewage reaches state waters, it is in the purview of the Regional Water Quality Control Board to fine cities, companies and individuals for the leak.

The board has not yet announced the fine the city will be required to pay for the spills, Pietig said Thursday.

Frank confirmed in a statement the day after the spill that the failure was not related to the pipeline work farther down Coast Highway at Nyes Place, which was completed earlier this month.

CANDICE BAKER can be reached at (949) 494-5480 or at [email protected].