City officials have asked the state for help in repairing a pipe that is spewing 180 million gallons a day of partially treated sewage into the ocean in what one expert called an environmental disaster.
Mayor Maureen O'Connor asked Gov. Pete Wilson on Wednesday to declare a state of emergency over the ruptured pipe, which was spotted Sunday by the Coast Guard. The governor - himself a former San Diego mayor - could act as soon as Thursday.City Council members said Wednesday that repairs could cost $10 million and take two months.
In the meantime, four miles of beaches have been closed because of pollution, and county officials say the sewage is beginning to infiltrate San Diego Bay.
Wilson and officials of the California EPA said they were checking to see if the state could arrange financing to help repair the pipe.