On the recommendation of the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts and the County Department of Health Services, Supervisor Don Knabe authorized the reopening today of a portion of Manhattan Beach that was closed after the January 15, 2006 wastewater spill.
The impacted area was centered on 21st Street and Marine Avenue in the City of Manhattan Beach. The area had been initially reopened after the January spill, but was subsequently closed again after further testing indicated elevated levels of bacteria below the surface.
The sand was sanitized with a diluted solution of bleach, equivalent to one capful of household bleach per gallon of water. The full-scale treatment of the sand was preceded by pilot tests to determine the proper application of diluted bleach solution. Monitoring systems were integrated into the procedure to assure that the application of the bleach solution would not impact groundwater below the surface or ocean water.
After full-scale cleanup was completed, testing of the sand area, down to three-feet below the surface, indicated no further elevated levels of bacteria. In addition to the 21st Street area, cleanup on three small areas in Hermosa Beach has been completed, and cleanup on three other small areas in Manhattan Beach should be finished this week.
It was critical that the Health Department and the Sanitation Districts got this beach healthy and back in business as safely and as quickly as possible, said Supervisor Knabe. I have reviewed the test results by both departments and I am satisfied by their reports that efforts to clean up the beach have been successful.