OCEANSIDE, Calif. — A sewage spill at the La Salina wastewater facility was reported at 10 a.m. Wednesday as crews were struggled with a runoff from the latest rainstorm, which flooded into the treatment plant.

“We did have a wastewater spill at our la Salina plant. We, for notification purposes, had to put out signage to close the beach,” said Lindsey Leahy, the Oceanside Water Utilities director.

Estimating thousands of gallons of sewage flowing out of the Loma Alta Creek, inspectors are currently reporting high bacteria levels at Buccaneer Beach.

The Ocean was a soupy brown color and most people kept their distance.

“I’ve never seen that color. It looks like someone changed the color of the ocean,” said Ben Hansen, a local resident. “It looks pretty nasty.”

There is an obligatory 72-hour beach warning for surfers and swimmers after a rainstorm. In this case, however, water regulators will also be testing the area for toxic pollution.