26 Jul Updates and Lessons from the Recent Sewage Spill
(PC: Heal the Bay)
This past week, the Boyle Heights Sewage Spill released an estimated 1.75 million gallons of raw sewage into the Los Angeles River headed towards Long Beach. The City of Long Beach quickly responded with the closure of its coastal beaches to the public and water quality studies to determine the extent of environmental impact. On Friday, city officials announced that bacteria levels were within safe levels and beaches were reopened to the public. Water quality is paramount to FoLAR’s continued efforts towards restoring the Los Angeles River as a healthy and accessible resource for humans and wildlife alike. Although spills like this are incredibly rare, they highlight the importance of the need for reinvestment in aging regional water infrastructure, much of which dates back to the early 20th century. As we move forward with river restoration, we must also advocate for safer, more sustainable water reclamation, sewage, and drainage infrastructure reinvestment so as to reduce the likelihood of these unfortunate incidents. Together, we can work towards the betterment of our River and the broader Los Angeles River Watershed ecosystem.
Find out more about the spill and our River’s health through Heal the Bay.
https://www.healthebay.org/blogs-news/deconstructing-weeks-sewage-spill
And for local news coverage of the spill:
https://www.presstelegram.com/lifestyle/20160722/long-beach-reopens-beaches-after-sewage-spill
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/07/21/seal-beach-coastline-reopened-beaches-in-long-beach-remain-closed-after-sewage-spill/