Study: Most sewage spills into SM Bay go unreported
By IRENE MANAHAN Special to the Daily Press
SANTA MONICA — More than 11.6 million gallons of raw sewage have tainted the Santa Monica Bay Watershed in the last five years, stemming from 208 separate sewage spills — 90 percent of which were never recorded, according to a Los Angeles County auditor-controller report released on Wednesday.
In recent months, considerable amounts of sewage found flowing along the Santa Monica Bay led County Supervisor Don Knabe to call for an investigation to examine the environmental hazard. “[There were] large spills in 2006 that raised a number of red flags,” said spokesman David Sommers. “Whether the reporting process of notifying the public of beach closures or water quality issues had been jeopardized... the supervisor called for this investigation to find answers.”
In September 2006, Knabe requested a widespread investigation to certify how spills are documented throughout the city, and according to the audit, to determine if proper protocols were being adhered to by public agencies “to minimize the impact of such spills on public health and environmental health.”
In November 2001, after discovering a large number of spills, Knabe conducted a similar study about whether there was a communication delay between the public agencies in reporting the spills.
“Health officials reported that the system was working perfectly,” Sommers said. “Obviously, this was far from the truth.”
Massive problems dating back several years were unearthed in the latest probe. The investigation found that of the 208 sewage spills, no efforts to notify the public or to clean up the spill were made in 189 of the incidents. Records for those spills, which total close to 10 million gallons, simply do not exist. The 19 spills that were accounted for totaled just 1.8 million gallons of the total 11.6 spilled since 2002.
“That no evidence exists as to whatever happened to 9.7 million gallons of raw sewage over a 55-month period is abhorrent,” said Knabe.
The county’s Director of Public Health, Jonathan Fielding, M.D., lamented that little could have been done since they didn’t know the problem even existed on most occasions.
“Our job is to protect the public health, like closing the beaches that have high bacteria counts,” said Fielding. “There were several instances in which we could have done so.”
County auditors found that there were numerous breakdowns in the communication system at every level of government.
On Tuesday, Jan. 30, public health officials will follow-up to discuss how such non-communication and distinct failure within the system could have been allowed to continue over the last four and half years.
“It’s disturbing.” Fielding said. “We never got any reports. The state law requires [sewer treatment plant operators] tell us about these spills.
“This investigation revealed a number of alarming breakdowns of the most unacceptable kind.”
Knabe said the investigation’s shocking findings exposed a need for “immediate reforms” that he plans to introduce on Tuesday.
“There is no more critical mission that the county has than ensuring the health of the public, and improving the conditions of our water,” Sommers said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 26, 2007. Read the original PDF.