Yellow tape cordons off the closed section of Ocean Beach near Balboa. Photo courtesy of ob-kc.com webcam
Last night’s storm caused some issues out at Ocean Beach today. SFAppeal reports that a section of Ocean Beach was closed off to pedestrians after an overflow was discovered coming from a manhole cover around 1am on Wednesday morning.
The spill came from a manhole near the intersection of Balboa Street and the Great Highway. The contents that leaked from the manhole spanned a block and covered parts of the promenade and the sand on the beach below. According to SFPUC spokeswoman Jean Walsh, the spill was 90% rainwater, but did contain some sewage.
Blog reader Robert B. spoke to a SFPUC crew member this afternoon who told him that they plan to leave the area closed to pedestrians for the next few days. This will allow the area can dry out so crews can then scoop out the affected sand.
The Ocean Beach Bulletin was also on the scene today and has photos and more details on the spill.
Sarah B.
To add to the fun, contractors working at Balboa and 48th/LaPlaya used a fire hydrant to get water for their concrete truck/work, which caused all the sediment in the pipes to end up in faucets up and down 48th Ave. Nice, especially when people are prepping for Thanksgiving. Water cleared by 3PM, at least, and the water department couldn’t have been nicer about it all.
Supervisor Mar went out there this morning and is in touch with the Department of Public Works and the Department of Public Health. Clean up is going along really well, but we are waiting to hear when they think it will all be open again.
This happens on a regular basis and until City Hall decides to spend less than 70% of available cash on “Health and Human Services”, our infrastructure will have more sewage overflows, more missed Muni runs, and more crumbling all over. When Moscone was Mayor, H&HS consumed 34% of the available cash and there was far less hidden in the Mayor’s Budget, like all public housing expenses are now hidden.