Los Angeles Beach Reopens After Medical Waste Washed Ashore; Recent Rainfall May Be to Blame
Sean Breslin
A Los Angeles beach has recently reopened after a series of rather disgusting finds along the shore, and some believe it was recent rainfall that caused the problem.
Dockweiler State Beach, located just west of Los Angeles International Airport, was shut down by officials after hypodermic needles, tampon applicators and condoms were found on the beach Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported. After the discovery, water samples revealed bacteria levels that were well above state standards, the report added, and the beach was subsequently closed.
It's believed rainfall in Southern California last week led to the medical waste being pushed into the sea, KABC Los Angeles said. When the heavy rains came, the runoff overwhelmed the Hyperion Treatment Plant, and one of the pumps that sends treated wastewater into the ocean experienced problems. So the plant had to use a pump that hadn't been used in about a decade, Hyperion spokesperson Tonya Durrell told KABC, and any trash that was stuck in that pipe over the years was probably sent into the ocean.
“Two inches fell in our region; that can cause a lot of flooding and overwhelmed the sewage treatment plant down at Hyperion,” James Alamillo, urban programs manager at Heal the Bay, told CBS Los Angeles. “What you saw was that a lot of debris or trash – biological material – gets through the system that would normally get caught.”
Dockweiler State Beach was reopened Saturday afternoon and the adjacent El Segundo Beach was reopened Friday evening, reports ABC News.
California has seen several environmental issues along its coastline in 2015. Earlier this year, a large oil spill near Santa Barbara cost more than $62 million to clean up, resulting in a closure of nearby beaches and a temporary halt on fishing in the area. In August, a toxic Pacific Coast algal bloom affected California, which led to more fears about seafood consumption.
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