San Diego Coast Quarantine May End

SAN DIEGO — Toxic bacterial counts caused by ongoing sewage spills dipped dramatically Wednesday, prompting San Diego County health authorities to say that they may lift a 20-mile quarantine of area coastline as early as Friday morning.

For the first time since the rupture of a massive sewage outfall pipe Feb. 2, bacterial readings fell below the legal limit, except at the tip of the Point Loma Peninsula, said Ruth Covill, a spokeswoman for the San Diego County Department of Health Services.

Authorities want to wait until Friday to assess the situation, Covill said, fearing a storm today may send readings from the international border to the San Diego River “soaring sky-high once again.”