Swimming Ban After Sewer Spill Is Extended

City officials on Friday extended the swimming ban on 5 miles of Santa Monica Bay beaches through the weekend as emergency crews attempted to unclog a large, 40-year-old pipeline that poured thousands of gallons of sewage into the Pacific this week.

The spill, called the worst since the summer of 1987, caused bacteria levels in the surf around the mouth of Ballona Creek near Marina del Rey to rise to more than double the levels considered safe for swimming.

The spill was caused by the failure of a welded 30-inch cap on an overflow sewer line near the Santa Monica Freeway and Fairfax Avenue. Del Biagi, director of the Bureau of Sanitation, ordered an inspection of 30 similar caps citywide.

Ballona Creek, part of the city’s storm drainage system and permanently closed to swimming, recorded bacteria levels hundreds of times its normal polluted levels, according to city biologist John Dorsey.

On the Safe Side

Dorsey said the ocean contamination appears to be limited to an area extending a quarter of a mile on each side of the mouth of Ballona Creek. But to be on the safe side, about 5 miles of beach, from Venice Pier to Grand Avenue in El Segundo, was declared closed to swimmers for the weekend, according to Jack Petralia, director of the city Bureau of Environmental Health.

“The (ocean) contamination does not seem as widespread as we thought it might be,” Dorsey said.

At the beach Friday, officials said light crowds meant no problems enforcing the swimming ban. Signs posted overnight along the length of Dockweiler State Beach urged beach-goers to avoid contact with the water. Four lifeguards patrolled Friday, warning beach-goers of the danger.

“If the surf was real good, there would be a problem keeping the surfers out,” said Lt. Randy DeGregori. “The water temperature is 59 (degrees). The surf’s running 2 or 3 feet. In the area we’re talking about, it’s not that good for surfing.”

The city first heard of the spill when nearby residents called to complain of odors about noon Thursday. Two hours later, biologists testing daily samples at the Hyperion sewage treatment plant confirmed elevated levels of bacteria in the creek.

Crews closed the line, feeding directly into the creek, about 6 p.m. Thursday, Biagi said. Until the stoppage is cleared and liquid levels recede enough for inspection, the origin of the spill will not be known.

“An earthquake could have shaken it. Vandals could have beat on it. There could have been a crack in the weld,” Biagi said.

A 65-inch, brick-walled sewer line, built in the 1940s, apparently became blocked where it dips 8 to 10 feet down to pass under Ballona Creek. The sewage backed up to an old overflow line and burst out through the metal cap into the storm drain system.

Bricks Deteriorating

City workers had opened a manhole for inspection Friday, and crumbling bricks were clearly visible in the line.

Biagi estimated that the line carries more than a million gallons of sewage daily.

It is impossible to estimate how many gallons spilled into the creek without knowing how much escaped from the sewer line and for how long, Biagi said.

“Or it could have been leaking minimally for some amount of time and not shown up, because the creek is so contaminated,” Biagi said.

Higher Readings

Biagi said officials have seen readings 10 times higher in past incidents.

Last Dec. 31, 50,000 gallons spilled into Santa Monica Bay from a broken sewer line in Pacific Palisades. A series of sewer treatment problems led to the discharge of more than 20 million gallons close to shore in May and June, 1987. All of Santa Monica Bay was closed for a week in October, 1987, after heavy rains flushed 2.7 million gallons of raw sewage into the sea.

Thursday morning, City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky called the spill “a warning shot” indicating the sewer system is not working properly. At a press conference at the spill site, he said the system is not being properly maintained. He called the spill, which he estimated at 100,000 gallons, “a tragedy.”

Petralia, the city’s environmental health director, said he could not predict how long the beach will remain closed. “We may have to go into next week.”

OTHER MAJOR RAW SEWAGE SPILLS FROM L.A. SEWERS

Volume in Date gallons Location Cause June 6, 1987 2,400,000 Venice canals Power failure disabled pumps; kept beaches here and at Marina del Rey closed for more than a year Oct. 17, 1987 30,000 Chatsworth Vandalism; sewage spilled onto street Oct. 23, 1987 2,700,000 Culver City Storm water caused overflow Oct. 30, 1987 25,000 Pacific Overflow after power Palisades outage disabled pumps Oct. 31, 1987 4,100,000 Culver City Storm water caused overflow Nov. 25, 1987 15,000 Pacific Power outage leading to Palisades overflow Dec. 31, 1987 50,000 Pacific Sewer line severed during Palisades construction project beach parking lot Nov. 8, 1988 (unknown) Near Fairfax Plugged sewer line Avenue & Santa Monica Freeway

Sources: California Regional Water Quality Board, Los Angeles Times

Compiled by researcher Cecilia Rasmussen