Beaches Up and Down San Diego County Closed After Sewage Spills

The San Diego County shoreline is dotted with beach closures due to several sewage spills, including one that released an estimated half-million gallons of waste that seeped into San Diego Bay, according to the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality (DEHQ).

The coastal areas affected included the San Diego Bay, "including all water north and west of Chollas Creek, up to Shelter Island;" South Ponto State Beach in Carlsbad; the nearby outlet of the Batiquitos Lagoon; and Park Morrison Pond in Sweetwater Regional Park.

The largest sewage spill occurred at 700 W. Harbor Drive, which is the address of Park Place Condominiums.

A power outage caused the city of San Diego pump station to lose function, a spokesperson for the DEHQ said. The county, citing the city, said 500,000 gallons of sewage was released just at this location during the outage.

On Wednesday, the county clarified that the massive sewage leak did not flow directly into the ocean but instead rain runoff pushed some seepage into the bay, prompting the DEHQ to close the area from Chollas Creek up to Shelter Island.

Arian Collins, a public information officer for the city of San Diego, said at about 2:50 p.m. Monday that "there was a sensor malfunction at Pump Station 2, which pumps wastewater to the city’s Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant." As a result of the malfunction, the wastewater pumps shut down, wastewater backed up and "there were spills in various locations in the Midway and downtown areas that flow into San Diego Bay."

In addition to the luxury condos on Harbor Avenue, 17 other locations were affected by the pump malfunction.

• 4114 W. Point Loma Blvd.
• 2838 Keats St.
• 601 Pacific Highway
• 1202 Kettner Blvd.
• 700 W. Harbor Drive
• 5055 N. Harbor Drive
• 380 K St.
• 200 Harbor Drive Parking Garage
• 4238 Venus St.
• 4236 Venus St.
• Fourth Ave. & K St.
• Loma Riviera Dr. & Loma Riviera Lane
• Riley St. & Kurtz St.
• Barnett & Truxton
• 3109 Sports Arena Blvd.
• 1431 Pacific Highway
• 380 K St.
• 879 W. Harbor Drive

An official told NBC 7 on Wednesday that the sewage backed up at those locations because they were the paths of least resistance, similar to a balloon being squeezed in your hand that expands in between your fingers.

San Diego officials could not give an exact figure for the sewage spill but said the "initial estimate is that the spill accounts for roughly 6% of the total amount of wastewater treated yesterday at the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant," Collins stated.

According to the city's SanDiego.gov website, the "Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant treats approximately 175 million gallons of wastewater per day." Six percent of 175 million is 10.5 million. NBC 7 has reached out to the city of San Diego to determine how many gallons of sewage it estimates were spilled as a result of the malfunction at Pump No. 2. On Wednesday, a city official confirmed that the sewage spill in San Diego was much larger than originally thought, likely in the millions of gallons.

Blair Whitaker, who works at Boot World — which, on Midway Drive, is several blocks away from any of the sites on the city's list of affected areas — described the incident, saying the fluid was erupting like a geyser.

"In a matter of minutes, the whole area is flooded," Whitaker said, adding that "we could definitely smell that it wasn’t clean water."

Whitaker quickly came to the right conclusion: "So, we were a little like, ‘I don’t want to be near that really. "

The backup lasted through 3:17 p.m., when the pumps were restarted. Collins said the appropriate regulatory agencies were notified and that signs were posted along the bay. An investigation is underway to determine what caused the sensor malfunction, but on Wednesday afternoon they were able to say it was not due to a power failure.

Separately, two other water contact closures at South Ponto State Beach in Carlsbad and Park Morrison Pond in Sweetwater Regional Park were caused by blown manhole covers nearby that led to sewage seepage into the ocean, the county said. One was in the North County-based Vallacitos Water District.

The county DEHQ announced the beach closures Monday night after testing indicated the water contained sewage and could cause illness to those who have contact with the water. There was no estimated reopening. The DEHQ said the closures would remain in place until sampling and field observations confirm these areas are safe.

DEHQ also extended the General Rain Advisory for all coastal beaches and bays. Rain brings urban runoff, which can cause bacteria levels to rise significantly in ocean and bay waters, especially near storm drains, creeks, rivers and lagoon outlets, and may cause illness, the DEHQ said. Water contact such as swimming, surfing and diving should be avoided during rain and for 72 hours following the rain event.

Additionally, continued orders remain in place for Children's Pool in La Jolla and Tourmaline Surf Park in Pacific Beach -- which have an advisory due to high bacteria levels -- and Tijuana Slough, Imperial Beach, Silver Strand and Coronado Shorelines, which are closed due to Tijuana River sewage outflow.

For updates on beach advisory and closure information visit www.sdbeachinfo.com or call the 24-hour hotline at 619-338-2073.

Editor's Note: This story has been edited to clarify the sewage spill at 700 W. Harbor Drive only contributed to sewage-contaminated waters in Mission Bay, while two other sewage leaks cause beach closures in Carlsbad and Sweetwater.

With reporting by NBC 7's Jackie Crea — Ed.