Laguna Beach reaches settlement with San Diego water board after 2019 wastewater spill

The city of Laguna Beach announced Thursday it has reached a settlement agreement with the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board in response to a Thanksgiving sewage spill.

The 1.4-million-gallon spill occurred in 2019 and originated from the Laguna Beach city sewage system. City staff that December said that it occurred about 3,600 feet from Coast Highway, near Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park. The cause was later determined to be a corroded 3-inch valve stem on a sewage pipe. It closed about 16 miles of Orange County coastal waters over Thanksgiving weekend.

About 1.3 million gallons of untreated raw sewage was discharged into Aliso Creek and about 430,000 gallons were discharged into the Pacific Ocean by way of Bluebird Beach, according to the settlement.

As part of the $1.5-million agreement, Laguna Beach will pay $785,780 to a statewide account for environmental cleanup and abatement projects. About $748,277 in administrative civil liability will be satisfied through the complete implementation of an “enhanced compliance action,” which the city said will be an infrastructure improvement project that will connect the North Coast Interceptor with the South Coast Water District’s Lift Station No. 2.

City officials say the improvement project will allow the city and SCWD to bypass flow along Aliso Creek in the event of a future emergency or maintenance.

A statement from the city issued Thursday said an agreement was able to be reached due to the city’s response and “proven ongoing diligence to improve its wastewater system over the last 20 years.”

“The San Diego Water Board prosecution team has been working closely with the city of Laguna Beach to reach this settlement and provide it for public comment,” said Chiara Clemente, enforcement coordinator for the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, in an email Friday. “We are encouraged by the steps the city is taking to minimize the likelihood of a similar event in the future.”

Clemente said Friday that the regional water district began its 30-day public comment period on the agreement and will be accepting written comments until 5 p.m. March 12. Upon completion of that period, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board will hold a public hearing to consider authorization of the agreement.

“Through this agreement, the city is able to partner with the South Coast Water District to implement a capital improvement project that will help strengthen both our systems and also provide safeguards to better prevent similar-type incidents from happening again,” said Laguna Beach City Manager John Pietig in a statement.

“Moving forward, an extensive assessment of the NCI system has resulted in options which the city will discuss with the public in workshops beginning in February 2021,” Pietig said.

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