More Than 6 Million Gallons Of Sewage Spills In Carson And Prompts Area Beach Closures

A six-to-seven million gallon sewage spill in Carson prompted the closure of beaches from Long Beach to Rancho Palos Verdes Friday, according to the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts.

"The next priority for us is to get the street cleaned up where the sewage spill occurred," Los Angeles County Sanitation District's Bryan Langpap
told our newsroom. "And then kind of in tangent with all that, again, is to kind of monitor the waterways to make sure that there's no community nuisance or, a threat to aquatic species."

The damage was located by responding crews on 212th Street between Lynten and Moneta Ave. in Carson around 5 p.m. Thursday.

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"The spill occurred due to a sewer collapse near the 110 northbound off-ramp to Carson Street ... We have crews working to clean the area where the spill occurred. The cleanup is expected to be completed [Friday] afternoon," read a release issued by the sanitation district.

A variety of crews, including emergency contractors and shoring and excavation personnel, have been working since Thursday evening to repair the sewer passage.

"The spilled sewage went to a nearby storm drain and then Dominguez Channel and the LA Harbor. Devices monitored for hydrogen sulfide and none was detected overnight," the release continues. "We will be working with health officials over the coming days to monitor water quality to determine when beaches are safe to reopen and assess environmental impacts."

Initially, LACSD reported no threat to public health or property due to the spill, "aside from the spilled sewage."

"A sewage spill of this magnitude is dangerous and unacceptable, and we need to understand what happened," read a statement from L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn. "The recent storm undoubtedly contributed to the spill, but we need infrastructure that doesn't fail when it rains. I am calling on LA County Sanitation District to do a full investigation into the cause of this spill and whether
aging or fault infrastructure was involved."

An estimated two-to-four million gallons of untreated sewage entered the Dominguez Channel, which empties into the Los Angeles Harbor, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

The following specific beaches are shut down due to the incident, per Public Health:

• Cabrillo Beach
• Point Fermin Beach
• White Point Park Beach
• Royal Palm State Beach
• Rancho Palos Verdes Beach

Up-to-date beach conditions can be found at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/beach/. The above beaches will remain closed until tests determine that the bacteria level in the waters along the shore align with state health standards.