The Latest: 1 beach reopens after Los Angeles sewage spill

LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Latest on a sewage spill in Los Angeles (all times local):

11:50 a.m.

A mile of Southern California shoreline that was closed amid fears involving a sewage spill 20 miles away has reopened after two consecutive tests came back clean.

However, officials said Thursday a longer stretch of neighbouring beach remains closed.

Officials in Seal Beach say ocean water samples taken Tuesday and Wednesday showed no excessive levels of bacteria. As a result, the stretch reopened Thursday.

In neighbouring Long Beach, four miles of shoreline remains closed after a sample taken Wednesday showed high bacteria levels. A sample from Tuesday came back clean. Officials require two consecutive clean tests.

The pipe rupture near downtown Los Angeles spilled 2.4 million gallons of sewage, some of it into the Los Angeles River that flows to the coast.

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12:01 a.m.

There is no sign that a huge sewage spill in downtown Los Angeles reached the ocean 20 miles away, but the waters off Long Beach and parts of neighbouring Seal Beach will remain closed at least until another round of tests comes back clean on Thursday.

The first sample taken showed no excessive levels of bacteria, Nelson Kerr of the Long Beach health department said Wednesday.

About 4 miles of coastline in Long Beach and a mile in neighbouring Seal Beach will be closed until a sample taken Wednesday shows it’s safe.

A buried pipe near downtown Los Angeles collapsed Monday, causing a blockage and spill of 2.4 million gallons of raw sewage onto streets and into storm drains that feed into the river.