Rancho Palos Verdes land movement leads to 10,000-gallon sewage spill

Rancho Palos Verdes has had what the city is calling a significant sewage break as a result of the area’s ongoing land movement.

While sewage lines have already been affected after months of movement, the estimated 10,000-gallon spill is the first time sewage spilled onto the coastal area since it started.

The situation

Crews responded Saturday morning to a sewage pipe break along Palos Verdes Drive South near Narcissa Drive, according to the city.

Michael Chee is a public information officer for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (LACSD), the agency that operates the main trunk sewers. He said the spill was contained and repaired that same day.

A 10,000-gallon spill is considered small. (The size is close to what a family of four would use for water in a 30-day period.) The agency doesn’t believe the flow led to any residual effects, according to Chee, and there was no immediate danger to the public.

“I was on site monitoring the flow,” he said. “It went almost directly underground in that area. It’s pretty much open land in that area down to the beach.”

What’s being done

Months of movement have created a risk for underground sewage pipes to break.

In this case, the pipe separated and was pulled apart at a joint, as it was designed to do.

While there aren’t plans to turn off water to residents, if movement severely damages more pipes, the community may be asked to limit indoor water use to help reduce sewage flow.

The city’s sewer infrastructure is back in working order as of Thursday, while emergency repairs happen to keep sewer lines operational. The network is being monitored daily.

“What unfortunately is unpredictable is any future land movement,” Chee said.

LACSD has a public action plan ready in case movement severely damages the network, which tells residents what to expect in terms of repair and what they can do at home.

Efforts are also underway to protect the pipes. Earlier this month, the agency announced it was working with Rancho Palos Verdes to move 2,000 feet of sewer pipe above ground along Palos Verdes Drive South.

The backstory

The main break is the latest sign of a deteriorating bluff as officials race to extract underground water that is accelerating a massive landslide.

Earlier this month, Rancho Palos Verdes officials warned residents that there’s a much larger, deeper landslide underneath the shallower movement they’ve been monitoring — this after they ordered inspections of some homes to ensure they’re safe to inhabit.

The unprecedented land movement also forced the complete dismantling and relocation of the historic Wayfarers Chapel earlier this year.