San Diego

A Loma Portal sewage spill sent 4,050 gallons of untreated effluent into San Diego Bay before repair crews cleared a sewer line Monday afternoon.

The spill began at about 11:30 a.m. Monday when grease and debris blocked a sewer line, sending sewage out of a manhole at Juniper Street and Channel Way, said a spokesman from the county’s Department of Health Services. The overflow went into a nearby storm drain, which then sent the effluent into the San Diego River and into the bay, he said.

Repair crews cleared the sewer line at about 1:45 p.m. The health department posted signs warning of contamination where the river meets the bay and for 1,000 yards south along Dog Beach in Ocean Beach, said the spokesman, who added that the signs will stay up until health officials determine that the water quality has improved to allow human contact.