Sewage spill fouls Batiquitos lagoon

CARLSBAD (CNS) – A sewage spill prompted a pollution alert along a stretch of coastline near Batiquitos Lagoon Wednesday.

The overflow of wastewater off the 2000 block of North Coast Highway 101 was reported shortly before 8:30 a.m., according to the county Department of Environmental Health.

By the time Leucadia Wastewater District crews got the problem under control about a half-hour later, roughly 4,500 gallons of sewage had flowed into the lagoon, the DEH reported.

Signs warning of contamination hazards will remain posted 1,000 feet on both sides of the estuary at Carlsbad State Beach until follow-up testing show bacteria levels have fallen within state standards.