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The city of Long Beach, pictured from just outside the breakwater, closed all beaches in Alamitos Bay after a Sunday sewage spill.

An expanded beach closure in the Long Beach's Alamitos Bay that remained in effect Wednesday following a weekend sewage spill will likely keep the beaches shut down for at least two more days.

A private sump pumpthat serves a residentialcommunity nearthe Cerritos Channel failed on Sunday, spilling sewage that flowed in Alamitos Bay,city public health officials said.

Initially, the spillonlyprompted the closure of Mother's Beach. But on Tuesday, Long Beach health officials said bacteriological test results had induced the cityto close all other recreational beaches in Alamitos Bay.

"Out of an abundance of caution, the beaches will remain closed to water contact until testing confirms that the results are within state standards," Long Beach City Health Officer Dr. Mitchell Kushner said in a press releaseTuesday.

Water-quality test results on Wednesday morning showed continued "moderate to heavy" exceedance of state standards for bacterial limits, according to Nelson Kerr, head of the environmental health bureau in the city's health department.

Kerr said the city wants to see two clean samples in a row at each of its four sampling locations in the bay. Samples are taken once per day and results are available the next day, so the earliest the beaches could reopen would be Friday.

It's uncertain how much sewage has entered the bay, Kerr said.

Ocean-facing beaches in Long Beach have remained open to the public.

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Beaches Still Closed After Sewage Spill