Storm runoff coats Southern California beaches with trash

SEAL BEACH, Calif. (AP) — The storms that have been blanketing California's mountains with much-needed snow and filling reservoirs have also been flushing all sorts of urban trash down rivers and drains, making a mess of beaches.

Bottles, diapers, syringes and more have washed ashore along Southern California, giving some sandy stretches the appearance of trash dumps.

Near the mouth of the San Gabriel River, Seal Beach was particularly hard-hit after the last round of stormy weather.

Save Our Beach board member Greg Fellers tells the Los Angeles Times it was "disgusting" and "looked like a landfill."

Volunteers made a dent in the mess by gathering debris into mounds for removal by front-end loaders.