South Laguna

Ban Lifted on Swimming: County health officials lifted a ban on swimming at Aliso Beach in South Laguna Friday after water sample tests showed that “bacterial conditions were safe,” according to Mike Wehner, chief of water quality for the Orange County Health Care Agency. The waters off Aliso were posted unsafe as a precautionary measure Tuesday after the Aliso Coastal Treatment Plant reported a 20,000-gallon sewage spill into Aliso Creek, which flows into the ocean at Aliso Beach. Repairs to a malfunctioning lift-station pump, blamed for the spill, have been completed, according to a spokesman for the South Coast County Water District.