Parts of Venice Beach and Dockweiler State Beach are closed after 15,000 gallons of sewage leaked into the ocean near Marina del Rey over the weekend, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said.
Beachgoers are advised not to go into the water one mile north and one mile south of Ballona Creek until testing there over 48 hours shows the water quality meets health standards. The first test was scheduled for Monday, according to the health department.
On Saturday, a broken water main pushed sand into the city’s sewer line, causing sewage to back up and discharge into a nearby storm drain. By the time the Los Angeles Department of Sanitation and Environment alerted the county health department about the problem, sewage had been flowing for nearly two hours, officials said.
Over the weekend, the boardwalk was unusually quiet, except for a few daring surfers who ignored health warnings and rode the waves near the pier, said Venice resident Scott Culbertson.
“It’s kind of heartbreaking,” Culbertson said of the empty streets. “It was hot yesterday … people wanted to come to the beach and take their kids there.”
Culbertson said it's not just local businesses that suffer from these incidents, but marine life as well. Ballona Creek flows through the Ballona Wetlands ecological reserve, where he leads educational tours as executive director of the nonprofit Friends of the Ballona Wetlands. His work focuses on restoring the wetlands, where freshwater and saltwater creatures, such as migratory birds and fish, meet and form a delicate ecosystem.
“Wildlife feed and nest in these waters, looking for food,” Culbertson said. “They didn't receive the text alert that there was a devastating sewage leak.”
This is not the first time Ballona Creek has been affected by sewage flow. In May, 14,000 gallons of waste from an unknown source spilled into the ocean, prompting closures, and heavy rains in February brought millions of gallons of sewage to coastal regions from storm drains.
For Culbertson, the number of sewage leaks he has seen in his 24 years living in Venice has been devastating, no matter the size. “Every time it happens, it’s one more time,” he said.
