Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn on Friday asked for a full investigation into how millions of gallons of untreated sewage ended up spilling into the Dominguez Channel this week, prompting water closures at beaches across the area.
Estimates of the spill ranged from 2 million to 4 million gallons on the low end to as high as 6 million to 7 million gallons of untreated sewage on the high end, according to health officials.
“A sewage spill of this magnitude is dangerous and unacceptable and we need to understand what happened,” Hahn wrote in a statement released Friday.
The sewage spill occurred in Carson and was caused by the failure of a 48-inch sewer mainline at 212th Street and Moneta Avenue, about two miles away from the Dominguez Channel, according to health officials.
Bryan Langpap, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, said Friday that it’s still unclear what caused the failure of the sewer mainline. However, they’re certain it was clogged, he said, prompting the sewage to be discharged from a manhole on 212th Street. Crews were able to stop the spill Friday morning after installing bypasses, Langpap said.
“The recent storm undoubtedly contributed to the spill but we need infrastructure that doesn’t fail when it rains,” Hahn said. “I am calling on L.A. County Sanitation Districts to do a full investigation into the cause of the spill and whether aging or faulty infrastructure was involved.”
As a result of the sewage washing downstream, Long Beach health officer Dr. Anissa Davis ordered a temporary closure of all swimming areas of the city’s approximately 7 miles of beaches.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health closed Cabrillo, Point Fermin, White Point Park, Royal Palm and Rancho Palos Verdes beaches. Seal Beach was among areas closed in neighboring Orange County.
The 70th annual Polar Bear Swim that usually draws hundreds of people to Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro for a New Year’s Day plunge was canceled.
Authorities said the beaches would remain closed until testing of water samples shows bacteria levels are within state standards.
City News Service, the Associated Press and staff writer Crystal Niebla contributed to this report.