Tests Reveal Leakage at Landfill Was Rainwater

A recent fluid leak from the Lopez Canyon Landfill alarmed residents concerned about ground-water pollution, but the seepage turned out to be uncontaminated rainwater, according to tests released Wednesday.

Officials of the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation reported the test results at a committee meeting attended by about 50 concerned neighbors of the dump, presided over by Los Angeles City Council members Richard Alarcon and Laura Chick.

Water from the July 12 leak, which occurred while crews prepared to excavate a closed portion of the landfill, was not fit to drink, but did not contain pollutants leached from the garbage, officials said.

The city will install two drains to collect rainwater in the future, said John De La Rosa, disposal manager for the Bureau of Sanitation.

Alarcon, whose northeast San Fernando Valley district includes the city landfill, criticized sanitation officials for failing to notify some community activists about the leak and other problems there. He said he will ask the full council in two weeks to approve a motion that would require sanitation officials also to notify community activists who speak only Spanish about any problems and to allow residents to contribute to the sanitation bureau’s quarterly newsletter.

Alarcon said he mustered a high turnout on the issue to demonstrate the strength of community support for closing the landfill. It is now scheduled to close in 1996, but sanitation officials are trying to keep it open for at least three more years.