17 million gallons of sewage discharged from treatment plant; some LA beaches closed

An incident at the Hyperion sewage treatment plant in Playa del Rey has caused 17 million gallons of sewage to be discharged into the ocean.

In a statement Monday, Hyperion executive plant manager Timeyin Dafeta said that on Sunday afternoon the plant became inundated with "overwhelming quantities of debris." About 17 million gallons of sewage—or 6% of a daily load—was discharged as an emergency measure to prevent the plant from discharging much more raw sewage, he said.

Dafeta said the issue was resolved early Monday morning and that officials are investigating the cause of the debris and repairing damaged equipment.

"At this time, all flow is being treated through its standard treatment processes," he said.

In a tweet posted at 2:25 p.m. Pacific time, L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn said beaches from El Segundo to the Dockweiler RV Park were closed to swimming. It was not immediately clear how long the closures would last.

"I'm getting more information about the scope of the problem," she said.

The Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, in operation since 1984, is the city's oldest and largest wastewater treatment facility.