On the shores of Playa del Rey, the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant stands as Los Angeles' primary defense against sewage flowing into the Santa Monica Bay. Built in 1950, this facility processes approximately 95% of the city's daily sewage, handling up to 800 million gallons of wastewater from homes, businesses, and industrial operations.
However, the aging plant, which received its last major updates in the 1950s, is particularly vulnerable to intense storms. In 2021, an equipment breakdown combined with human error led to 17 million gallons of raw sewage spilling into the Santa Monica Bay, an event that saw workers running for their lives as pumps and electrical equipment were knocked out. Los Angeles officials are now preparing for potential challenges as a forecast "super" El Niño threatens heavy rains and flooding this winter.
Joone Kim-Lopez, General Manager of the Los Angeles Sanitation and Environment (LASAN), recently told the L.A. City Council that while LASAN has done its best to maintain the facility, the infrastructure needs attention. The city’s stormwater and wastewater systems are designed separately, but heavy rains can cause water to seep into cracks in aging wastewater pipes underground, according to Tracy Quinn, chief executive of environmental group Heal the Bay. This infiltration can lead to pipes bursting or, more critically, to large wastewater plants like Hyperion becoming overloaded, potentially resulting in spills into the ocean or sewage backing up into homes and businesses.
Hyperion's operators are taking the threat seriously. Tonya Shelton, a public information officer for LASAN, confirmed that extra staff are added when extreme weather is forecast. Additionally, crews conduct annual testing of generators, redundancy systems, and other critical equipment between April and October to prepare for severe conditions. Shelton stated that LASAN is "actively working to safeguard the public, our crews, and our critical infrastructure" ahead of the rainy season. Mayor Karen Bass' office also noted that sanitation crews are clearing debris and reinforcing burn scar areas to reduce flood risks.
Tracy Quinn, who served on the technical advisory committee that reviewed the 2021 spill, observed that the city has implemented many of the suggested changes to better prepare for future incidents. She added that this winter will be "the first time that the system is truly tested with extreme storms," and that success will depend heavily on the staff's ability to address issues quickly.
Mark Gold, director of the California Ocean Ecosystem Monitoring Program at UCLA, characterized the 2021 spill as a symptom of poor maintenance, reflecting a decades-long decline in the city's infrastructure. Gold pointed out that "sewers and water distribution systems are out of sight and out of mind," making it difficult to prioritize their maintenance without a major catastrophe.
To address these long-standing issues, the city has agreed to significantly increase sewer fees, which are set to double over four years starting in 2024. Gold described these additional funds as sorely needed after more than a decade without such increases. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who chairs the Public Works Committee, highlighted the high cost of improving and replacing Hyperion's aging pipes and equipment. She noted that nearly 30 other entities and municipalities, including Beverly Hills, Culver City, and West Hollywood, depend on Hyperion for sewage treatment. Hernandez suggested that the city might need to raise fees for these other jurisdictions to ensure they pay their fair share for using L.A.'s infrastructure, rather than relying solely on city ratepayers.
Los Angeles manages 6,700 miles of wastewater pipes—a distance comparable to that from L.A. to China—and an additional 1,200 miles of stormwater pipes. Of these, about half of the wastewater pipes are over 50 years old, and roughly one-third are over 90 years old, well past their expected lifecycles, according to Kim-Lopez. Hyperion, the largest water reclamation plant of its kind west of the Mississippi River, remains the "granddaddy" of the city's four similar facilities, facing an ongoing challenge to manage the region's wastewater effectively in a changing climate.
