Playa Vista residents have been complaining about foul odors in the area especially at night. Today, residents discovered that the recent sewage disaster at the Hyperion Plant in El Segundo is to blame. Because of a failure at the plant, reclaimed water used to water plant beds and grass has only been partially treated. However, LADWP officials are claiming that the water still meets environmental standards.
A resident posted an email exchange on Facebook after contacting Playa Vista and LADWP about the stench. The following is an LADWP official’s description of the situation and a schedule for flushing the poorly treated water from the system:
LADWP is responding to recycled water odor complaints in the Playa Vista area. A major cause is a malfunction at 1 of 2 of our recycled water reclamation plants that occurred Monday 7/12/2021. The malfunction seems to have been caused by massive surges of debris in the sewage system. Repairs are progressing and recycled water quality is steadily improving, but the quality of the recycled water has diminished (but still conforms to regulatory standards).
To alleviate this, LADWP has increased the outgoing flow of the recycled water to 100% as of Tuesday, 7/20/21, 1:25PM. This will help clear and reset the odorous recycled water that made its way to Playa Vista.
Additionally, LADWP has completed the following recycled water evacuations (flushes) of the older recycled water out of the pipeline:
– 7/22/2021 Fountain Park & Bridgeway Mills (Playa Vista Drive, North of Fountain Park Drive)
– 7/27/2021 Serenade/ Capri Ct/ Concerto Lofts/ Tapestry/ Avalon/ Paraiso/ Esplanade/ Promenade (Villosa Pl, East of Kiyot Wy)
– 7/27/2021 Carabella/ Catalina/ Capri Ct 2/ Tempo/ Runway Lofts (Agustin Place, West of Celedon Creek)
The following recycled water flushing has been scheduled:
– Thursday, 12:00AM – 7:00AM, McConnel [sic] & Jefferson
– Thursday, 12:00AM – 7:00AM, Village & Jefferson
– Thursday, 12:00AM – 7:00AM, Westlawn & Jefferson
– Thursday, 12:00AM – 7:00AM, Lincoln & Jefferson
Additional flushing will occur on Bluff Creek & Campus Center Drive, as well as the Crescent Park area TBD.
The Crescent Park neighborhood will take the longest to flush the recycled water out, as the design of the pipes traps the recycled water with slower evacuation options. LADWP is working with Playa Vista Parks & Landscaping for the best solution.
Although the odor of the recycled water has increased, LADWP, the Bureau of Sanitation and West Basin Municipal Water District has verified that the recycled water is safe and conforms to State and County safety standards.”