Beaches in Manhattan Beach Remain Open
Jul 13, 2021 12:20PM ● By Jeanne Fratello
7/13/21 Update: The L.A. County Department of Public Health briefly issued an advisory against swimming at 28th Street in Manhattan Beach due to high bacterial counts, then reversed that advisory.
A sewage spill that shut down El Segundo and Dockweiler beaches has not resulted in the need for any closures in Manhattan Beach, according to Los Angeles County lifeguards on Tuesday morning.
"There is no current closure in Manhattan Beach," Lifeguard Captain Arthur Lester told DigMB on Tuesday morning. Lester was stationed at the L.A. County Lifeguard Headquarters at 26th St. in Manhattan Beach and said he could see people enjoying the beach from his window.
Water quality testing will continue on its regular schedule, and the beaches will continue to be open unless testing reveals elevated bacteria levels, he said. The Junior Lifeguard program is operating as per usual today in Manhattan Beach.
Yesterday the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
issued a beach closure due to sewage discharge from the Hyperion Water
Reclamation Plant, affecting swim areas from Dockweiler Beach to El Segundo Beach.
Information from the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant indicates
that approximately 17 million gallons of unfiltered sewage was discharged
into the ocean through pipes that extend one mile and five miles offshore. It is said to be the largest amount of untreated sewage discharged through the one-mile pipe over the last 10 years.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and L.A. City (Hyperion) continue to collect water quality samples. The affected beaches will remain closed until water samples
are confirmed negative for elevated bacteria.
"I understand that the plant was able to prevent an even larger spill, but we are going to need answers about how and why this happened," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn in a tweet on Monday.