Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sewage Spill topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sanitation bureau outlines Nov. 3 pumping-plant failure and beach closures; council adopts report
Summary
City sanitation staff reported to the City Council that a Nov. 3 power and backup-system failure at the Bionic Creek pumping plant caused a multi-hundred-thousand-gallon sewage overflow into the storm-drain system, prompting beach closures; the council adopted the bureau—riefing and directed follow-up notifications and contractor-testing requirements.
Bureau of Sanitation staff told the City Council on Dec. 14 that a November 3 equipment and power failure at the Bionic Creek pumping plant caused raw sewage to overflow into the storm-drain system and prompted temporary beach closures along the Santa Monica shoreline.
Assistant Bureau director Jim Langley and wastewater collection manager Barry Bergraz said the overflow occurred while a pump-station bypass was in place during construction. Early that morning a vehicle struck a utility pole and transformer, causing a power outage. During construction testing the contractor had left a bypass breaker open; crews later found the breaker open, closed it, and restored pumping. Bureau crews estimated they captured about 47,000 gallons; another roughly 205,000 gallons reportedly flowed into the storm-drain system before flow was restored (total approximate release ~252,000 gallons). The bureau said it was working with the County Department of Health Services and environmental monitoring partners to refine monitoring and public-notice protocols.
Langley said bacterial-monitoring data from county and city teams did not show an increase in measured bacteria at the closed beaches and that the county used conservative closure formulas and precautionary signs once the potential spill was reported. The bureau outlined several procedural changes for the future, including daily checks of contractor bypasses, mandatory weekly generator testing before holiday periods, improved call-out and public-notice lists, joint releases with the county health department, and revised beach-closure signage that notes "sewage" explicitly.
The council received the staff report and adopted it by voice/roll call. Staff said they would schedule workshops with county health and water-quality partners to coordinate announcements and response procedures and would ensure contract administration required the contractor to test backup power systems during construction.
Ending: The bureau said it has updated notification practices, will require contractors to test backup systems more frequently and will work with county agencies to coordinate public notices and signage. The council adopted the report and asked for continued coordination and monitoring improvements.
