17 Million Gallon Sewage Spill Closes Dockweiler Beaches in El Segundo

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (CNS) – The beaches of El Segundo at the southern end of Playa del Rey were closed to bathers on Monday due to a 17 million gallon sewage spill.

A power outage at Hyperion’s water recovery plant on Sunday caused untreated sewage to dump into the ocean, Los Angeles County supervisor Janice Hahn tweeted.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has advised people to avoid contact with the ocean in the following areas:

– Dockweiler State Beach at the extension of Water Way;
– Dockweiler State Beach at the Hyperion Factory;
– El Segundo beach; and
– Grand Avenue storm sewer.

The Department of Public Health posted signs informing people of the beach closings and officials were carrying out tests on the water. The duration of the shutdown was unclear, but test results are expected within 24 hours.

Hyperion plant executive director Timeyin Dafeta released a statement Monday afternoon saying that on Sunday afternoon the plant “was inundated with overwhelming amounts of debris, causing upstream facilities to be pushed back. The plant back-up system was triggered and sewer flows were controlled through the use of the plant’s mile-long outfall and the discharge of untreated sewage into the Bay of Santa Monica. “

Dafeta said the 17 million gallons of sewage – about 6% of a daily load – was discharged as an emergency measure through the one-mile outlet to prevent the plant from going offline and to discharge more raw sewage. Normally, treated wastewater is discharged through the five mile outfall.

“Thanks to these efforts and the significant improvements to the equipment in recent years in partnership with several environmental groups, the amount of flux in the ocean has been alleviated and the plant has remained on-line,” said Dafeta.

“These upgrades included reconfiguring the plant’s storm basins to pump wastewater into the plant in an emergency; screens were installed on all catchment basins to prevent untreated debris from entering storm sewers and entering the ocean; and an upstream bypass had been installed to prevent raw sewage from overflowing into the Headworks building and onto the street. “

Dafeta said LA Sanitation & Environment was following protocols to notify regulatory agencies and the California governor’s emergency services office of the spill.