A sewage spill prompted Los Angeles County health officials Thursday to order a beach and ocean water closure for Dockweiler State Beach south of Ballona Creek in the Playa del Rey area.
According to the county Department of Public Health, roughly 14,400 gallons of untreated sewage spilled into the creek between Wednesday and midday Thursday, discharging into the ocean. The source of the spill was not immediately released.
Health officials issued a closure order directing people to avoid the ocean water and any wet sand on the beach stretching from Ballona Creek to one mile south.
“The Department of Public Health will conduct water sampling beginning (Friday), and the closures will remain in effect until Public Health receives two sampling results indicating that bacteria levels meet health standards,” according to the agency.