Sewage spill closes part of Newport Bay

Residents are advised to stay out of the 33rd Street Channel in Newport Bay after a sewage spill over the weekend.

The Orange County Health Care Agency closed the channel between 32nd and 38th streets to swimmers and divers after the spill Saturday, said program manager Larry Honeyborne.

An Orange County Sanitation District sewage pump failed to work, causing an estimated 1,000 gallons of raw sewage to back up and spill out into the storm drain and then into the channel.

The spill was called into the agency about 4 p.m. Saturday.

The channel could reopen Wednesday at the earliest, Honeyborne said. The agency is sampling the water to determine when the channel can be reopened. The water must meet state-controlled water quality standards two days in a row before it can be reopened, he said.

— Britney Barnes

Twitter: @britneyjbarnes