Countywide : You’re Breaking the Law When You Hit the Water

The Board of Supervisors passed a law Tuesday making it illegal for people to land in county-controlled water after jumping from bridges.

In the case of the county having control of a bridge, it will also be illegal to jump from it, unless specifically posted otherwise.

The Harbor Patrol, a unit of the Sheriff’s Department, requested the law, which passed on a 4-0 vote and takes effect immediately.

Capt. Harry Gage of the Harbor Patrol said jumping from bridges such as the one on Pacific Coast Highway in Seal Beach “is increasingly popular, particularly in the summer months, and creates an extreme danger to the jumpers and to boaters in the water beneath the bridges.”

At Seal Beach, the bridge is inside city limits and outside county jurisdiction, Gage said. But the county controls the water beneath the bridge, so landing in the water after jumping from the bridge will be illegal.