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| Ponded sewage beneath the Santa Monica Pier on the inland side of the bike path (10/15/07) . Photo: Heal the Bay/Nick Fash |
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| Heal the Bay staff member collects sample from ponded sewage beneath the Santa Monica Pier (10/15/07). Photo: Heal the Bay/Nick Fash |
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| A view of the bike path beneath the Santa Monica Pier. At the far end is one of the tanker trucks involved in the removal of the sewage pond (10/15/07). Photo: Heal the Bay/Nick Fash |
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A pumping station failure results in a significant sewage spill beneath the Santa Monica Pier. Heal the Bay's test results raise concerns over possible migration of raw sewage into ocean waters.
Due to a failure at the Moss Avenue pumping station on the City of Santa Monica's main sewer line, approximately 25,000 to 50,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled beneath the Santa Monica Pier, ponding on the bike path.
What Happened?
The spill started at 11pm on October 14 and lasted 6 1/2 hours when the pumps failed to restart after a temporary power outage at the pumping station. Unfortunately, an alarm failed, as did the switch to backup power for the pumps. As a result, the pumping station failure went undetected until Shutters and Bubba Gump restaurants called the city about back-ups in some of their toilets.
Following standard protocol to avoid flooding of the plant, the backed up raw sewage was diverted into a stormdrain line that empties near the bike path beneath the Pier. The City of Santa Monica has since removed the ponded sewage and is taking steps to resolve the issues that caused the pumping station failures.
Heal the Bay's Test Results Raise Concerns
In response, Heal the Bay collected samples from the spill area including the ponded sewage on the bike path, the pond in front of the stormdrain on the south side of the pier, and numerous sites on the beach.
Based on the results, Heal the Bay can say with strong certainty that sewage reached the pond in front of the stormdrain on the south side of the pier. The total coliform, E.coli and enterococcus densities were comparable to raw sewage as was demonstrated by the sample results from the pooled sewage near the bike path and by our knowledge of the fecal bacteria densities in raw sewage. It's not certain that raw sewage went directly into the Bay, but based on last year's study of the runoff pond under the pier, we are concerned that sewage could have migrated to the ocean through the sand.
Public Health
Heal the Bay believes that the beach at the pier should have been closed the morning of October 15 by the L.A. County Department of Public Health. Any large spill that occurs within 200 yards of the shore should close the beach as a precaution.
Based on the pier's current F grade on our Beach Report Card, along with the possibility of sewage contamination from the spill, Heal the Bay recommends avoiding water contact 100 yards north and south of the Santa Monica Pier.
We will provide additional information about the spill and its effects as they are confirmed.
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