Marina — A massive sewage spill at the Monterey One Water wastewater treatment facility early Saturday morning has closed eight beaches, the Monterey County Environmental Health Department reported.

Approximately 4.9 million gallons of sewage spilled from the wastewater treatment facility before it was stopped at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, the health department reported. The cause was due to failure of a headworks bar screen. It was not known exactly when the spill started.

No one at Monterey One Water or the State Department of Parks and Recreation in Monterey was available for comment Sunday afternoon.

The Monterey County Environmental Health Department website said Saturday that the following beaches are closed: Carmel Beach at Ocean Avenue, Monterey Municipal Beach, Lovers Point, the beach at Monterey State Beach, San Carlos Beach, the beach at Sunset Drive at Asilomar, the beach at Spanish Bay and Stillwater Cove.

All other beaches are open without restriction, the website said.

Beach water samples were taken by the Environmental Health Bureau on Sunday according to an update issued by the county. The beaches will remain closed until tests indicate the water is safe for contact according to state guidelines.

However, the county also reported that should it rain, it will advise the public not to have ocean water contact for three days after the last rain event even if the results of testing come back negative for contaminants.

Contact with contaminated water may cause gastroenteritis and other water borne illnesses.

The Saturday spill comes on the heels of two other beach postings this month. On Jan. 11, about 1,500 gallons of sewage spilled into a storm drain system on Casa Verde Way at Del Monte Avenue in Monterey. The Health Department closed Monterey County Beach.

On Jan. 16 the health department found high levels of bacteria at Monterey Municipal Beach and Carmel Beach and posted warnings.

For more information, call 800-347-6363 or visit www.mty.org/beaches.