About 4 miles of beaches in Los Angeles were closed Monday after more than 17 million gallons of sewage spilled into Santa Monica Bay over the weekend.
“Water samples are being tested and I’m getting more information about the scope of the problem,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said.
She said the spill had been caused by a mechanical failure at the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant and the plant had been able to prevent an even larger spill, but called for answers about “how and why this happened.”
Segundo Beach, the Grand Avenue Storm Drain and the Dockweiler State Beach at both the Water Way Extension and Hyperion Plant have all been affected and are closed to swimmers, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
“The affected beaches remain closed until water samples are confirmed negative for elevated bacteria,” the department said in its statement. “Beach users are advised to stay out of the water until the advisory is removed.”
The Hyperion plant is Los Angeles’s largest and oldest sewage treatment facility, USA Today reports. It has operated since 1894 and was designed to accommodate a daily flow of 450 million gallons of water daily.
As of Monday, the mechanical failure that caused the sewage spill has been resolved according to Executive Plant Manager Timeyin Dafeta.