Thanks to a post on Divevets…

Swimmers and surfers are advised to avoid ocean water in Lunada Bay

LOS ANGELES – Closure signs have been posted at the access points to Lunada Bay in Palos Verdes Estates due to a sewage spill. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials were notified this afternoon that approximately 100,000 gallons of sewage entered the intersection of Via Rivera and Paseo Lunado, resulting in effluence flowing into Lunada Bay.

The advisory will be in effect for at least 72 hours, pending test results that measure the bacteria level in the ocean water. Water samples were taken this afternoon.

“We are asking people to avoid entering, swimming, or surfing in the ocean in and around Lunada Bay,” said Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, Director of Public Health and County Health Officer. “Our first priority is to protect the health and safety of the people who may visit the bay. Once we determine bacteria levels in the water have returned to normal, closure signs will be removed.”

The Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County stopped the flow of sewage and is now in the process of cleaning up the site. It is also involved in the repair of the collapsed sewage pipe that led to the spill. Public Health was notified by the Sanitation Districts today around 3:00 p.m. regarding the discharge.

Recorded information on beach conditions is available around the clock on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Ocean Water Quality Hotline at 1-800-525-5662 and online at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/beach.

The original warning is here.

Thank you, Crazy Ivan for bringing this to my attention.

This seems, or at least initially appears to be, a shear case of panic, followed by a mad dash to the surface.

There also seems to be some speculation on the thread at Scubaboard.com, that the student’s ascent was initially slowed by the instructor, but the student fought him off.

As ScubaBoard user Merxlin speculates, “Based on the symptoms (frothing, etc.), it was probably a barotrauma caused by rapid ascent due to panic. From my conversation with them, the rapid ascent occurred in the final 15 to 20 ft.”

Not becoming an instructor is getting to be a better and better idea, at least for me.

My condolences to the family.

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November 1, 2009 – AVALON, Calif. A Redlands woman died after suddenly surfacing during her deep-sea certification test on Catalina Island Sunday, deputies said.

Mona Towle, 56, died while being rushed from Avalon to Two Harbors, where she was to be treated for apparent decompression sickness, L.A. sheriff’s deputy Robert Domin said.

Emergency personnel worked to revive Towle after she suddenly surfaced from more than 65 feet below the water at a marine sanctuary just north of Avalon’s casino, another deputy said.

Towle was reportedly experiencing problems with her scuba equipment while ascending to the water’s surface. Divers must ascend at a rate slow enough to avoid “the bends,” a painful physical condition caused by an excessive concentration of nitrogen in the bloodstream.

The diver was being transported by boat for treatment at a hyperbaric chamber when her heart stopped, deputies said.

The original article is here.