Lake O'Neill tests clean after Sept. 13 sewage contamination

A power failure at a Camp Pendleton pump station caused a 34,000-gallon sewage spill September 13 which led to the contamination of Lake O’Neill, but subsequent testing determined that the lake was free of the sewage contamination by early October.

Warning signs noting the sewage contamination of the water had been posted at the lake’s campground and fishing areas September 13, and those signs were taken down after the testing revealed that the contamination no longer existed.

The sewage spill was attributed to lightning which caused a power failure at the pump station on Vandegrift Boulevard...