14,000-Gallon Sewage Spill Shuts Down Venice Beaches
The ocean is closed off Dockweiler Beach and in Venice after a sewage spill leaked thousands of gallons of sewage into nearby Ballona Creek on May 8.
Public Health officials made the call to shut things down when they were alerted to the fact that around 14,400 gallons of untreated waste water escaped into the waterway. At first, it was only Dockweiler that was thought to be affected, but when the size of the spill was discovered, the closures expanded. Both Dockweiler and Venice are extremely popular beaches.
“The sewage discharge began on May 8 and was stopped at 12:09 p.m. on May 9, resulting in an estimated 14,400 gallons of sewage entering Ballona Creek,” the L.A. Public Health Department wrote in a release.
Beaches will remain closed until water samples show a return to safe levels of contaminants. Officials are advising both locals and tourists to stay out of the water and avoid any nearby areas with wet sand.
This is far from the first time a sewage spill has closed beaches in the area. In 2021, 17 million gallons of untreated waste shut down four miles of beach in the Los Angeles area from El Segundo north to Dockweiler RV Park.
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