Manhattan Beach, CAThis saga began with the massive sewage spill in Manhattan Beach in January of 2006, however, unreported sewage spills have plagued Los Angeles for quite a while. Certainly during my tenure as the Baykeeper, I have received numerous phone calls and e-mails regarding sewage spills that happened and yet never resulted in a beach closure despite high levels of bacteria in the water. I have personally witnessed spills that made it to the beach and did not result in a closure. Countless swimmers, surfers, and children wading in the water have been exposed to bacteria and raw sewage. After the Manhattan Beach spill, there was considerable outrage in our community and elected officials began to take notice and actually do something about it. Baykeeper was busy advocating for as high of a fine as possible for the spill, and County Supervisor Knabe called for an audit of the spills throughout the region. It was this audit that resulted in the shocking news that over 90% of sewer spills in Los Angeles go unreported.

Assemblymember Ted Lieu of Torrance has done his part with the introduction of AB 800, a public notification bill that is currently winding its way through the State legislature. It is clear that most of the spills go unreported to avoid liability under the Clean Water Act, however, the time has come to put public health above any fiduciary concerns. And from Baykeeper's perspective, if you are doing your best to protect visitors to the Beach, you will be doing your best to ensure your system does not leak. Everyone wins.