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After a back-up at the Hyperion Water Plant Reclamation Plant, 17 million gallons of untreated waste were dumped into the ocean Sunday night, closing El Segundo and Dockweiler beaches.
Life guard towers along Dockweiler State Beach
(Photo by Karol Franks via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
L.A. County Department of Public Works says treated wastewater is normally released into the ocean through a pipe that lets out five miles off the coast.
When debris clogged up the system, threatening to shut down the plant and spew a massive amount of sewage into the ocean, it triggered a failsafe operation, causing the wastewater to be released just one mile off the beach for about eight hours.