LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Orange County Health Care Agency today expanded the ocean water closure area forbidden for swimming due to a massive spill of untreated sewage in the Dominguez Channel.
The waters of Seal Beach's Surfside Beach and Huntington Beach's Sunset Beach are also off-limits, health officials said.
Beaches have been closed around the ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Seal Beach.
The spill ranged from 2 million to 4 million gallons on the low end to as high as 8.5 million gallons of untreated sewage, according to health officials.
The beaches will not reopen for swimming, surfing and other water-related activities until water quality levels meet acceptable standards, health officials said.
Sanitation crews were working in Los Angeles and Long Beach to clean up the immediately impacted areas, health officials said.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn asked for a full investigation into how the sewage spill occurred.
“A sewage spill of this magnitude is dangerous and unacceptable and we need to understand what happened,” Hahn wrote in a statement released Friday. “The recent storm undoubtedly contributed to the spill but we need infrastructure that doesn't fail when it rains. I am calling on L.A. County Sanitation Districts to do a full investigation into the cause of the spill and whether aging or faulty infrastructure was involved.”
Information about Orange County ocean, bay and harbor postings and closures can be obtained by calling 714-433-6400 or at OCBeachinfo.com.