Error after sewage spill leads to closure of Lover's Point Beach.

A section of of Lover's Point Beach was closed today—and will remain closed at least until Feb. 13—as a result of a sewage spill in Monterey the evening of Feb. 9.

The spill, which occurred on the 1400 block of David Ave., was reported to the Monterey Fire Dept. just after 9pm, and itself is not anything unusual: A plumber cut a line to relieve pressure at someone's residence, which sent sewage into the yard, onto the street and into a storm drain.

What made it unusual was that the sewage made it into the sea, a result of either mechanical or human error, or both. 

According to John Ramirez, director of environmental health for the country's health department, MFD arrived at the scene, conducted a cleanup of surface contamination, and notified Monterey Public Works that sewage was flowing into a storm drain at about 40 gallons per minute. As per protocol, public works is then to use a diversion pump redirect that drainage from the sea. 

Both the MFD and the Monterey County Health Dept. were informed by MPW last night that the diversion pump had been switched on, Ramirez says, but this morning the health department was informed by MPW that the switch was still turned off. Ramirez could not elaborate as whether the error was mechanical or human, but a statement issued by the health department earlier today said it was a "mechanical failure."

Ramirez says the water affected—which absorbed an estimated 900 gallons of sewage—stretches from Lover's Point to Hopkins Marine Station, and says the adjacent section Lover's Point beach was closed this morning after health officials became aware of the problem.

Consistent with state guidelines, the beach will remain closed until water samples indicate it is safe for contact, as sewage-contaminated water can lead to gastroentiritis and other water-borne illnesses. Ramirez says samples can't be taken until 72 hours after a hard rain, which means the earliest they can be taken is Feb. 12 if no significant rains occur before then. The results from the samples require 24 hours to obtain, meaning the earliest the beach will re-open is Feb. 13.

As coastal waters typically become affected by bacteria and other harmful contaminants due to storm drain outflows, a cautionary advisory from the health department was already in place at the beach.