County sanitation district to begin phased sewer-lining work through Hermosa Beach starting March 30, officials say

The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts will begin a phased cured-in-place sewer liner project through Hermosa Beach on March 30, the city’s public works director told the Hermosa Beach Public Works Commission on March 18, 2026. The work will take place in multiple phases across the city and is intended to rehabilitate a more-than-100-year-old trunk sewer main.

City Director San Clemeni said the first phase will begin in the city’s southern limits on Valley Drive between Second and Fourth streets and will last a couple of weeks. Subsequent phases will move north to Palm Drive (18th–25th), an area near 22nd Street and Pier Avenue, then further north up to the Manhattan city limit; the final phase will be downtown. “They’re going to be starting on March 30th,” San Clemeni said.

Why it matters: the line carries significant flow out of Hermosa Beach and was described in staff remarks as more than a century old. The work is long and will be phased to reduce disruption, but parts of the project will require temporary trenching and bypass piping placed in the street or greenbelt. For downtown, staff negotiated a construction moratorium that precludes work April 1 through Sept. 30; the downtown phase will require bypass piping routed up Hermosa Avenue with temporary trench crossings at the Hermosa Avenue–Pier Avenue intersection.

Staff noted the sanitation districts and their contractor will provide a series of advance notifications to residents (typically 14 days, seven days and 24 hours before work) and will maintain an on-site inspector; the city will also have an inspector assigned to the project. For properties directly tied into the county line, small numbers of homes may experience temporary service disruptions and the sanitation districts will supply temporary restrooms and wash stations and conduct direct outreach to affected property owners.

“There will be some impacts throughout the city,” San Clemeni said, describing typical bypass-pipe staging and locations where temporary trench plates will be used to maintain access. “We did require that they stay out of the downtown from April 1 through September 30th.” City Engineer Sad Malum added that the sanitation districts have agreed to restore downtown features—including the HB logo at the Pier/Hermosa intersection—in kind at the conclusion of construction.

Cost and restoration: staff told commissioners the sanitation districts will cover the construction costs. Where pavement restoration is required, contractors are bound to the city’s standard trench restoration detail; the city may negotiate to pay a difference if it chooses a wider final pavement width than the district provides as part of its restoration.

Traffic and coordination: commissioners pressed staff about overlapping projects in southern Hermosa—water main work, green-streets construction and the sewer lining—and asked whether staging and traffic control are being coordinated. Staff said traffic-control plans are being negotiated per phase, the city inspects for compliance, and residents should report specific problems to the public works department so staff can enforce approved traffic controls.

Contractor and contacts: the sanitation districts’ contractor listed in the staff presentation was Sandcon Technologies; the district will provide a project web page and direct contacts for questions and complaints.

Next steps: staff will monitor each phase, publish notices per the 14/7/24 schedule, and work with the district on traffic-control plans. Commissioners were told the project is long-running but necessary to avoid future emergency repairs.

The commission did not take formal action on the project at the March 18 meeting; the discussion consisted of staff presentation and commissioner questions.