County Fined in Sewage Spill

Alleging negligence, the state Regional Water Quality Control Board has fined the county Sanitation Districts $20,000 for a 760,000-gallon spill of raw sewage that flooded a park, a restaurant and several apartments in Carson a year ago.

The April 20, 1988 spill occurred during a maintenance crew’s routine monthly exercise near a pumping plant at 21208 Main St. The crew closed three large valves but failed to reopen them completely, and supervisory officials failed to heed alarm signals indicating that sewage was backing up.

Sewage backups were reported at a restaurant in the 600 block of East Del Amo Boulevard and an apartment building in the 900 block of the same street, as well as a home in the 20200 block of Eddington Drive. A pond of sewage formed in the parking lot of the Carson Mall.

But most of the spill--about 400,000 gallons--was contained in the Del Amo Park retention basin and later pumped into the sewage system for treatment. Some 260,000 gallons of untreated raw sewage went into the Dominguez Channel, which flushes into Los Angeles Harbor.

County sewage officials spent more than $100,000 to disinfect the soiled buildings and to flush streets and parking areas contaminated by the sewage. The crew and supervisors who had caused the spill were suspended and required to take training in correct procedures.

The board’s staff had recommended a $50,000 fine. The board approved a $20,000 fine at its meeting Monday, citing the county sewer system’s good safety record. Because of the size of the spill, a total of $6.6 million in fines could have been assessed.