Stretches of Aliso Beach Reopened

With the bulk of the 900,000 gallons of raw sewage swept out to sea, county health officials Saturday reopened parts of Aliso Beach in time for the expected Fourth of July rush.

A long stretch of the beach from Aliso Pier north, however, remained closed because of unhealthful traces of sewage around the area where Aliso Creek spills into the ocean.

South Aliso Beach, as well as Camel’s Point, Laguna Royale and West Street beaches, were opened after county water officials determined that the ocean water was safe for swimmers.

The entire length of Aliso Beach, from Treasure Island to Table Rock, was closed beginning June 22 when 900,000 gallons of sewage from a broken pipeline spilled into Aliso Creek and drained into the ocean.

It was the largest such spill in the county in about a year and the third in Aliso Creek this year. In January, 170,000 gallons of sewage from another broken pipeline was fed into Aliso Creek, and another 300,000 gallons of sewage ended up in the ocean after a similar incident in March.

“It has pretty well dissipated now,� said Scott Treloar, 25, the beach lifeguard supervisor. “They’ll keep testing it every day to see if the rest of the beach can be opened. I can’t remember a summer that has gone by when we haven’t had to close this beach because of something like this.�

Only a few dozen people took advantage of south Aliso Beach’s reopening Saturday, but few were venturing into the water.

“It’s always something,� said Tony Grillo, a Claremont resident who enjoyed the relative tranquility from a lawn chair perched beneath the pier. “Today with the new technology, you can’t eat the fruit, you can’t eat the fish. . . . What can you do? But it’s nice here. Not so many people.�

Janeen Jensen, a 30-year-old South Laguna resident, said Aliso had been her favorite weekend haunt for seven years, and she wondered aloud why it was beset with so many problems involving raw sewage.

“I come here to enjoy myself, and let’s hope they clean it up,� she said. “Let’s see them fix the pipes and put in ones that won’t break. I mean, what is the problem here anyway? Somebody needs to get his act together.�

Her sister, Deneen Jensen, 31, of Costa Mesa, added: “I don’t go in the water much anyway. But even if I did, I wouldn’t go in today.�

County officials said that a 450-foot piece of pipeline that ruptured would be replaced but that in the meantime, signs warning people to stay out of the ocean would remain posted for a distance of 500 feet on each side of Aliso Creek

“Last week they said you could really smell it here,� said Tiffany McClure, 19, of Laguna Niguel, who was spending the day at Aliso with friends. “They said it smelled like a toilet.