CARLSBAD — A pollution alert was in effect in the North County on Tuesday because a sewage spill fouled a Carlsbad lake, authorities said.
A broken water main underneath Lake Boulevard in Oceanside created a sinkhole that caused an adjacent sewage pipe to rupture and begin overflowing about 8:30 a.m. Monday, according to the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health.
By the time sanitation crews got the spill under control about a half-hour later, roughly 8,400 gallons of wastewater had entered a creek that empties into Calavera Lake in northern Carlsbad.
Signs warning of sewage contamination will stand at access points along the north and west portions of the lake until follow-up testing deems it safe again for recreational uses.