Beaches reopen after warning

After a two-day beach closure, swimmers and surfers are free to reenter the water from Beach Boulevard to the Newport Beach Pier.

The Orange County Environmental Health Agency spent the weekend sampling ocean waters along the almost five-mile stretch of beach.

The agency deemed the water safe for the public just after 2 p.m. Monday, said Larry Honeybourne, the program chief for the agency’s Ocean Water Protection Program.

The closure was prompted Saturday morning when a leak was discovered in an onshore Orange County Sanitation District pipe that dumps treated waste water into the ocean, said district spokeswoman Jennifer Cabral.

While crews repaired the pipe, the water was dumped only a mile-and-a-half offshore rather than the normal five miles, she said.

“The beach was closed just as a precaution,” Cabral said after the beaches had been reopened.

The pipe was repaired Saturday at approximately 1:30 p.m. During the two days of water sampling, bacteria levels weren’t elevated, Cabral said.

Health officials look for three types of bacteria that indicate the presence of pollution, including fecal waste.

For more information on Orange County water closures, call the Ocean and Bay Closure Hotline at (714) 433-6400.