Long Beach Sewage Spill Closes All Coastal Swimming Areas

The Long Beach sewage spill has shut every open stretch of coastline in the California city, after a broken pipe sent thousands of gallons of wastewater toward the Pacific on Friday night, and nobody can say yet when it is safe to swim again.

The city says it was notified on October thirtieth of a force main failure next to Sewer Lift Station Twelve, near Livingston Drive and Second Street, according to Long Beach Utilities. A force main is a pressurized pipe that carries wastewater, and the break began around six thirty in the evening, per the city's health department.

The numbers behind the closure

The first estimate was twenty-seven thousand gallons, but the city revised it upward on Saturday morning. According to Long Beach Utilities, about twenty-nine thousand gallons of wastewater were discharged, and roughly fifteen thousand were recovered by the contractor Ocean Blue.

That leaves about fourteen thousand gallons that reached the ocean, the utility said. Crews tried to catch as much as possible before it hit storm drains that lead to the sea, LAist reported, but a large share still got through.

The city's health officer, Dr. Cliff Okada, ordered the temporary closure of all open coastal beaches and bay swimming areas, including lagoons, according to the Los Angeles Times. The closure was widened Saturday morning to include bays and lagoons.

What is being done

Long Beach Utilities stopped the spill by rerouting sewage around the broken line and is working on emergency repairs, as reported by LAist and the Long Beach Post. No cause for the break has been announced.

State law requires beaches to be closed and posted in situations like this, the city said, out of an abundance of caution until recreational water quality meets state standards. One report from Press Telegram said swimming areas will stay closed until tests show the water is safe.

When can people swim again?

There is no reopening date. Water sampling is set to begin on Monday, and it may continue as needed, especially because rain is expected this weekend, according to a roundup from GET News citing the Los Angeles Times.

Rain matters because runoff can carry more pollution toward the shore, so test results could take longer to clear. Anyone planning a beach day should check the city's official updates first, and keep pets and kids out of the water until signs come down.

What residents can do now

The closure covers open coastal beaches, bay swimming areas and lagoons, so the usual spots for a weekend dip are off limits until the city lifts the order. Officials describe the step as precautionary, taken because wastewater can carry bacteria that make swimmers sick.

Checking the city's public updates page before heading out is the simplest move, since the order will be lifted only after testing meets state recreational standards. Surfers, paddleboarders and families with small kids are the groups most likely to be affected, and the closure applies even if the water looks clear.

The utility has not said how long the emergency repairs will take, and it has not named a cause. Until it does, the open questions are the repair timeline, the test results and whether the weekend rain complicates the picture.

Why this matters beyond one beach

Long Beach is no stranger to closures, LAist noted, but they most often happen when sewage flows down the Los Angeles or San Gabriel rivers. This one is different because it came from a pipe failure right at the coast, which shows how aging infrastructure can shut down public space overnight.

For young people who surf, paddle or just hang at the shore, the Long Beach sewage spill is a reminder that clean water depends on pipes nobody sees. It also lands at the end of Halloween weekend, when beaches and boardwalks are busy.

For more on environmental stories, browse our climate coverage and health desk. This report draws on the Los Angeles Times and Long Beach Utilities, and the Long Beach sewage spill closure remains in effect.