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Public Works Director Richard Sullivan says a brief power failure Saturday caused the discharge at a pump station.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality says sewage entered the storm drains and discharged along the beach.
Sullivan says a vacuum truck was sent out immediately and sewage didn't get onto the beach itself, but it was closed as a precaution.
MDEQ closed the beach Saturday from Mockingbird Lane to Edgewater Drive. It says it will lift the closure when tests indicate the water is safe.
Sullivan said Sunday that experts are working out how much sewage was discharged, but at a guess it might have been 1,000 to 2,000 gallons.