A cooling line ruptured at the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant this morning, sending about 5,000 gallons of partially treated sewage into the ocean.
The county’s Department of Environmental Health has closed the beach nearby, stretching from Ladera Street south to the lighthouse.
The city doesn’t know what caused the 7:20 a.m. rupture, said Heather Lade, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Wastewater Department. The treatment plant handles about 172 million gallons of sewage a day.