Sewage leak forces partial closure of Bolinas Beach in Marin County
BOLINAS, Calif. - If you're planning to hit the sand in Marin County this weekend, take note, a large stretch of one of the area's most popular beaches is shut down right now. County officials opted to close much of Bolinas Beach last Friday after sand samples tested positive for high levels of sewage.
"It’s the first time in anybody’s memory that it’s happened for this reason," said Sarah Jones, Director of Marin County's Community Development Agency.
County environmental experts are still trying to pinpoint the exact sources of the sewage, but believe that it's coming from a number of home septic systems located on the cliffs above the beach.
"There’s a lot of houses on the top of the mesa." said Jones. "They all use septic systems. They’re not connected to a public sewer. And so, this is coming from there, we think…from some portion of the houses' septic systems on the cliffs."
Currently, the beach is closed from Brighton Avenue to Agate Park.
"That’s pretty gross. They should fix that," said local surfer Beck Reber, who was just learning about the closure, and wondered if it might explain the large presence of flies. "Way more than normal."
Nearby, were beachgoers Hannah Goldberg and Gabby Peastore, who were both coincidentally studying for their PhDs in ocean science, and opted not to sit on the sand.
"We kind of wanted to dodge the sand flies, which are probably attracted to the organic matter," said Goldberg.
The county said it was busy working to resolve the issue, but added it could take some time. Until then, county officials said the stretch of beach would remain closed.
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