The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has issued an advisory for beaches from Dockweiler State Beach to El Segundo State Beach as water sampling it conducted on Tuesday, July 27 showed bacteria in ocean water exceeded state standards.
The beaches, which were tagged by lifeguards with yellow advisory tags, are those near the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, which was responsible for a 17-million-gallon sewage spill on July 11 and a four-day beach closure.
The health advisory, which wasn’t posted until late Wednesday evening, notes that “no sewage is currently being discharged from the Hyperion plant,” and states bacteria levels change each day and may have been impacted by recent rain.
Beach-goers should “be careful of swimming, surfing, and playing in ocean waters around discharging storm drains, creeks and rivers,” noted the advisory.
An advisory is issued when there is significant rainfall that causes run-off or when bacteria levels in the water exceed state standards, according to the health department’s website. Unlike, during the four-days following the sewage spill, beaches are not closed. But, the health department warns, water contact during a rain advisory may cause illness especially in children, the elderly and susceptible people.
DPH also reports it is performing community outreach in neighborhoods impacted by the odors resulting from the Hyperion plant flood cleanup. Teams will be going door-to-door Thursday and Friday, according to the news release.
The beaches under advisory near the Hyperion plant are:
- El Segundo Beach
- Grand Avenue storm drain (Near Dockweiler Tower 60)
- Dockweiler State Beach
- Ballona Creek (Near Dockweiler Tower 40)
- Culver Blvd storm drain
- Hyperion Plant outfall
- Imperial Highway storm drain (Dockweiler Tower 56)
- Westchester storm drain
- World Way extension
Health officials also issued advisories for other Los Angeles County beaches that have elevated ocean water bacteria levels “very likely due to day-to-day fluctuations.”
Those beaches include:
- Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica
- Montana Ave. storm drain at Santa Monica Beach (Santa Monica North Tower 8)
- Wilshire Bl. storm drain at Santa Monica Beach (Santa Monica North Tower 12)
- Temescal Canyon storm drain at Will Rogers State Beach
- Avalon Beach at Catalina Island (50 feet east of the pier)
“At this time, there is no reason to suspect these increases in beach water bacteria are due to the recent sewage discharge at Hyperion,” stated the release.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Source: Orange County Register
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