By Juliana Riverin
Assistant Managing Editor
The County of Los Angeles reopened beaches reaching from Ballona Creek to 45th Street on the border of Manhattan Beach as of Sept. 26, after a 2 week closure due to the detection of materials of sewage origin on Dockweiler Beach.
The presence of these materials has been attributed to the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant discharging wastewater into the ocean through a one-mile emergency outfall, as opposed to the regular five-mile outfall, which is under construction. This means that treated sewage is being let out four miles closer to the shore than usual.
“The way I see it, there are currently two situations regarding the one-mile outfall,” Heal the Bay spokesperson James Alamillo said. “Firstly, there is the issue of the objects found washed up on Dockweiler, and secondly, there is the issue of wastewater being released so close to shore and the possible harm that could cause.”
It is believed that rainfall from a few weeks ago played a part in the object washing up on shore. According to Alamillo, the rain caused three times the normal flow of water in the treatment plant, overloaded the sewage system and forced Hyperion to use their emergency outfall. The force of the water caused the netting in the outfall to fail and release 10 years worth of objects, onto Dockweiler Beach, including tampon applicators and hypodermic needles.
“Our sewage system is around 50 years old,” Alamillo said. “It does get overloaded and it does occasionally need repairs, which is a problem.”
Under normal circumstances, the one-mile outfall is only supposed to be used in the event of an emergency. The continued use of the emergency one-mile outfall is due to necessary maintenance of the five-mile outfall’s pipe and pump system. According to Heal the Bay’s Hyperion Update article, the pump system has been working continuously for 54 years.
“Hyperion has known for a while that they needed to do repairs,” Alamillo said. “They’ve waited 10 years to replace the pump header, so this isn’t a surprise, although the rain and the net failing right before definitely weren’t part of the plan.”
Due to its proximity to the shoreline, day-to-day use of the one-mile outfall was curbed, and all the waste expelled through it is treated to the secondary level. This level of treatment gets rid of most solids, nutrients and sediment, usually by using disinfectants like chlorine or ultra-violet radiation. However, not all nutrients always get removed, and that can cause phytoplankton blooms.
“The current plankton bloom is non-toxic,” Manhattan Beach Roundhouse Aquarium aquarist and educational director Eric Martin said. “We did test off the end of our pier and we’ve determined that the bloom is being caused by diatoms which is a very normal occurrence.”
Despite these findings Heal the Bay has started a petition calling for answers as to how the spill happened in the first place and pledging to fight for the prevention of further sewage related pollution from Hyperion. Additionally, Heal the Bay staff attended the Oct. 8 meeting of the L.A. Regional Water Quality Control Board to demand accountability from Hyperion.
“I think there will likely be consequences for causing the mess,” Heal the Bay spokesperson James Alamillo said. “Hyperion will have to clean it up, and there could be some possible mitigation from the Regional Water Quality Control Board, but that probably won’t be decided until 3 to 4 weeks from now, and I doubt it will be made public.”
The petition gained 1,829 signatures since its Oct. 6 creation. Additionally, it prompted two local citizens, Sarah Spinuzzi and Rebecca Fix, to attend the meeting and voice their opinions on the matter.
“I think that the petition really showed the Water Board how many people are aware of and unhappy with this situation,” Spinuzzi said. “I surf at least five times a week, and I’m an environmental lawyer so I thought it was important for me to speak up as a concerned resident and as a member of the community who is knowledgeable on the subject.”
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