In Brief

In its search for the root of the beach-water bacteria problems, the

Orange County Sanitation District on Thursday announced another battery

of tests.

While the Fountain Valley-based agency will focus its efforts on the

Huntington Beach shoreline, which has been hit with a rash of beach

closures, some testing will also be done off the coast of Newport Beach.

The agency, in trying to pinpoint the cause of the bacteria, is

expected to spend about $75,000 for each testing round. The next one is

scheduled for Wednesday.

Bacteria found in human and animal waste has been detected several

miles off the Newport Beach coastline, usually after rainfall.