LA County Sanitation District outlines trenchless sewer rehab in Hawaiian Gardens, warns of parking impacts

LA County Sanitation District representatives told the Hawaiian Gardens City Council on Sept. 10 they will rehabilitate approximately 8,000 linear feet of aging trunk sewer in Hawaiian Gardens using cured‑in‑place pipe (CIPP) technology, with construction work beginning in late October and continuing into January 2026.

The project, described by district staff as a trenchless relining of reinforced concrete pipes and manholes, is scheduled in two main phases. Phase 1 is set to begin Oct. 23 and run through about Dec. 3; Phase 2 is expected to run from Nov. 20 to Jan. 7. The presenter said the work will rehabilitate roughly eight manhole structures on the reach that crosses the Lakewood–Hawaiian Gardens border and extends through sections of Fourteenth Street and Bellshire Avenue.

The Sanitation District representative described the CIPP process: resin‑saturated felt tubing is inverted into the existing sewer, cured with hot water or steam, and then inspected by closed‑circuit TV. “Once the CIPP liner goes in and it’s cured, you can forget completely about the old concrete pipe,” the presenter said, adding the lining is intended to extend the sewer’s life by about 50 years.

Why it matters: the trunk sewers were built in the late 1950s and district staff said hydrogen sulfide gases have degraded the concrete. District staff emphasized the work is preventive infrastructure maintenance to reduce the risk of future failures, sinkholes or larger safety issues.

Traffic, parking and noise impacts

District staff said the lining requires a dry pipe during installation, so flows must be diverted with above‑ground bypass piping and pumps. The bypass will use two 12‑inch HDPE discharge pipes (primary and redundant secondary) laid above ground in sections and will require trenching across certain intersections, including Centralia. During bypass operations the district will post no‑parking notifications and replace trench cuts with welded trench plates.

The presenter said bypass work may run beyond typical daytime hours when the CIPP liner is being cured and specified the lining work window as roughly 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.; trenching and general pipe installation will follow standard city hours (about 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.). He warned that during bypass operations “yes, 24/7 no parking” will be enforced in the marked areas.

Public outreach and contractor oversight

The district said contractors are contractually required to provide one‑week, 48‑hour and 24‑hour notices to affected residents and to post no‑parking signs 72 hours before restricted parking begins. The district also said it will deploy a full‑time inspector on site during active work and that a district inspector is available 24/7 for complaints or emergencies. The prime contractor named in the presentation was Charles King Company; representatives of that company attended the meeting.

Questions from council members focused on parking impacts and whether local businesses could be asked for temporary parking to reduce strain on residents. A council member suggested approaching nearby commercial properties about temporary accommodations; the district representative said staff typically knock on doors, distribute flyers and provide a personal work cell number on the flyers for residents to report issues.

No council action requested

District staff asked for the council’s attention and said they would coordinate notifications; they did not present an ordinance, grant request or other item that required council approval at the Sept. 10 meeting. The project team said construction in Hawaiian Gardens will follow the district’s schedule and contract documents and that the project’s notice to proceed date was issued in November 2024 with construction in Hawaiian Gardens beginning in October 2025.

Provenance: presentation and public Q&A

The presentation and the city council Q&A on this project were recorded during the Sept. 10 meeting. The district’s initial invitation and framing appear when the agenda moved to presentations and the district introduction (transcript block beginning at 921.485). The presentation details and timeline appear throughout the district presentation and Q&A and conclude near the segment that states construction in Hawaiian Gardens will start in October and finish in January 2026 (transcript block beginning at 2592.455).

Ending

District staff said they will finalize traffic control plans, continue door‑to‑door outreach before each segment, and maintain an on‑site inspector while work is underway. Council members thanked the presenters for the technical overview and emphasized the need for clear resident notifications about parking and timing.