Leimomi Tobler was stopped on a street entrance at Ala Moana Beach Park on Tuesday because a massive sewage spill the day before had closed the popular park, leaving it a ghost town on a sunny morning.

A police officer told Tobler she could walk into the beach park but warned that swimming would be at her own risk.

Tobler, 24, then walked in, planning only to lie on the beach. But shortly after entering, other police officers told her the park was closed and that she had to leave.

“It sucks that (the spill) happened,” Tobler said. About 10 minutes later it began drizzling, and the Makiki woman acknowledged it probably wasn’t a good day for the beach.

Tobler was one of many beachgoers who showed up at beaches in the Ala Moana and Waikiki area Tuesday, unaware that the beach areas were closed because of possible contamination from more than 500,000 gallons of sewage that flowed into the ocean from storm drains near Atkinson Drive. Shoreline waters were closed from Point Panic in Kakaako to the Kapahulu Groin at the other end of Waikiki. On Tuesday officials clarified that Ala Moana was closed because of the sewage spill, while Waikiki beaches were closed because of a brown water advisory from storm runoff.

City and state Department of Health officials tested waters Tuesday and will determine whether the beaches could be reopened Wednesday afternoon.

Some beachgoers in Waikiki went into the water and came out only after hearing a lifeguard warning.

One woman said she didn’t know the beach was closed, but when distant “beach closed” signs were pointed out, she wondered whether the beach was closed in front of her because people were still in the water.

Cesar Pulgarin of New York came out of the water with his daughter and said he didn’t know the beach was closed and hadn’t heard any warning from lifeguards. Several people were in the water where he was swimming across from the Pacific Beach Hotel.

“Hopefully nothing happens,” Pulgarin said.

Many in the ocean in Waikiki appeared to be international visitors and possibly could not understand lifeguard warnings.

Some lifeguards used smartphones to translate warnings into Japanese and played the messages through bullhorns.

One lifeguard, who was not authorized to speak with the media, said there was more trash washing up on the beach Tuesday and that the water had a “stench” that it normally doesn’t have.

The beach closure also affected typically bustling visitor businesses and events along Waikiki Beach.

At Hawaiian Oceans Waikiki, which rents surfboards and stand-up paddleboards and offers surf lessons, the company was renting only chairs and umbrellas, said employee Chris Newcomb, noting that the overcast weather was also slowing business.

Duke’s OceanFest postponed its surf competition for the second day in a row. On Monday the surf contest was called off because of the weather. On Tuesday it was postponed because of the storm runoff and sewage spill.

The nine-day event is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the birth of legendary waterman Duke Kahanamoku. OceanFest Executive Director Brent Imonen said the contests could be held on other days throughout the festival.

An event spokesman sent out a news release Tuesday night saying surf competitions for Wednesday have been postponed until the city officials confirm that the shoreline waters pose no apparent health hazard.

At Ala Moana Beach police drove around on ATVs, warning people that the entire beach was closed, including the grass and sand because they may have been contaminated by sewage runoff.

One Makiki resident, who gave only his first name, Mike, was reading on a bench at Magic Island when officers told him he had to leave because the soil may be contaminated.

He said he was a little upset but shrugged off the matter.

“Another time,” he said while leaving the park. “I thought I was safe because I was not going in the water.”

Kevin Choan of Ala Moana learned about the park closure after jogging in the sand.

“It kind of feels like a high-alert thing,” Choan said. He added, aside from the spill-related problems, “I love it right now. There are no people I have to dodge around.”