Commission reviews beach closure after sewage contact and heavy rain

At the May 14 meeting the commission reviewed a closure that began after suspected sewage contact with a creek and was extended by heavy rain.

Commissioners reported the commission was closed for a mandatory two‑week shutdown after contractor bore‑hole work near Fairfield Beach Road hit a pipe and may have discharged sewage into a creek. That shutdown was compounded when April produced more than four inches of rain in the area, delaying reopening; commissioners said the commission had been closed roughly three weeks at the time of the meeting.

"They were drilling some test holes... and they hit the pipe. I guess a certain amount of sewage may have gotten into the creek, so it's an automatic shutdown," a commissioner said during the report. Members emphasized that an automatic two‑week closure for potential sewage contact is the governing operational practice and that subsequent rain extended the closure window.

Commissioners asked staff to monitor weather and water quality and to keep volunteers and permit holders informed about reopening. The commission noted that the timing of relays or other propagation work depends on the reopening schedule and that staff would attempt to time relays to avoid mid‑summer two‑week closures where possible.

No formal regulatory citation was made at the meeting; the commission described the closure as an operational automatic shutdown triggered by potential sewage contact and exacerbated by rainfall.