Report critical of spill reaction

Communication delays were big contributor to sewage disaster, it says

The trash and other debris that led to a sewage spill at the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant this month created a life-threatening situation and a no-win choice between sending 17 million gallons of raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean or potentially having the entire plant flood.

That’s according to a new report on how debris backed up at Hyperion, near El Segundo, causing a sewage spill that closed South Bay beaches for several days in mid-July. While Hyperion staff worked under “extraordinary circumstances” to

contain the flood, the report said, poor communication among shift supervisors, executive managers and county health inspectors delayed public disclosure of the spill.

The report, which the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors discussed on Tuesday, concluded that the way Hyperion and county health officials handled the sewage release and necessary public notifications was a failure. And while the plant staff successfully saved the plant with limited ocean damage, the report also gave an ominous warning: “Next time those efforts “may not be enough.”

The latest analysis of the spill — which involved interviews with officials at six agencies — offers the fullest explanation and timeline for what occurred on the afternoon of July 11 and into the early morning hours of July12 at the facility, which treats roughly 260 million gallons of sewage daily from 2,600 miles of piping across Los Angeles County. The report also underscored the severity of what L.A. Sanitation & Environment, the Los Angeles city agency that operates the plant, previously described as a “nearly catastrophic” failure at Hyperion. The report, prepared by consultant Citygate Associates LLC, at various times described the incident as “unprecedented,” a “near miss” and a “once in a career event.”

The incident also led to multiple layers of fallout: Repairs to the flood-damaged plant are expected to take weeks; the resulting odor has required LA to offer ElSegundo residents reimbursements for air conditioning or hotel rooms; and residents and elected officials have expressed outrage at the spill and delay in notifying the public.

“The whole plant has been flooded, the equipment has been compromised,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said Tuesday, “so I’m still concerned about our public’s health in El Segundo and the surrounding area.”

L.A. Sanitation & Environment, in a Tuesday afternoon statement, defended its communication to other agencies as following requirements under its operating permit. But the agency also said it is working to improve public notification procedures.

“We are already working with the various County departments,” the statement said, “to address the findings of the report and improve public notifications.”