Pacific Palisades narrowly avoided a sewage spill this weekend. Photo: Joe Cooke//Unsplash
Some Los Angeles County beachgoers nearly had their plans ruined this Labor Day weekend. Just in time for the holiday, the L.A. County Department of Public Health narrowly avoided closing beaches due to a sewage spill.
On Friday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public health released a statement announcing an ocean water closure, due to a root blockage that caused about 6,700 gallons of untreated sewage to enter a storm drain. According to the release, that sewage would then flow to the ocean at Sunset Blvd. and Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades. Officials advised residents to avoid contact with water and wet sand a half-mile north and south of Sunset Boulevard.
However, that same afternoon, the closure was lifted. According to the L.A. Times, the department said a low flow diverter successfully redirected the sewage away from open water.
The near-spill has been the latest in a series of water-quality related issues in the county. In July, parts of Venice Beach and Dockweiler State beach were closed after 15,000 gallons of sewage leaked into the ocean near Marina del Rey. Prior to that, beaches in the county closed due to poor water quality multiple times over the summer, with little explanation as to the cause.
