S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
INSIDE MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN CONNECTION TO FATAL HIT AND RUN
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August 6 – August 12, 2021 Volume XCX, Issue 105
Millions of Gallons of Partially Treated Sewage Continue to be Discharged Into Santa Monica Bay Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant still not operating at full efficiency following July spill By Sam Catanzaro
Three weeks after a 17 million gallon sewage spill at Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, the facility is still not able to fully treat sewage, sending millions of gallons of partially treated discharge into Santa Monica Bay every day. Normally, treated sewage at the plant, which serves the City of Los Angeles, is discharged five-miles offshore. During the July 11-12 spill–caused by overwhelming quantities of debris–17 million gallons of raw sewage were discharged one-mile offshore during an eight
hour period. The event led to closures of swim areas in the area, including Dockweiler and El Segundo due to elevated levels of bacteria in the water. These closures were lifted on July 16 after the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) stated that water sampling at the impacted swim areas met state standards. Recent special ocean water sampling conducted by Public Health on July 29, however, determined that beach areas near Hyperion continued to exceed state standards for bacteria in water. These include near the Topsail Street extension storm drain in Venice, Ballona Creek near Dockweiler Tower 40, the Culver Blvd storm drain, Imperial Highway storm drain and the Westchester storm. Public Health stated in a press release that these advisories are likely due to day-today fluctuations in bacteria levels and that the increases are likely not related to the July 11-12 sewage spill.
Sewage Spill, see page 8
Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant in El Segundo.
Photo: City of LA Sanitation (Facebook)
UCLA Hospital Ranks No. 1 in State, No. 3 in Nation
Highest set of rankings ever for UCLA Health By Sam Catanzaro
UCLA Health hospitals have ranked No. 1 in both Los Angeles and California and rose to No. 3 nationally in U.S. News & World Report’s annual report, the highest set of rankings UCLA has received in its history. In the annual evaluation, published July 26, UCLA Health once again earned
a spot on the national honor roll which includes the 20 hospitals that provide the highest-quality care across a wide range of procedures and conditions. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota earned the top spot in the rankings this year, followed by Cleveland Clinic, UCLA Health, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. Elsewhere in Santa Monica, Providence St. John’s Health Center was ranked No. 1 in Adult Specialty care and No. 18 in California. For UCLA Health this is the 32nd consecutive year the system has appeared on the ranking’s national honor roll of the
UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica.
top-20 hospitals nationwide. “Securing a top-three spot in the nation is a record high for UCLA Health and is a testament to the extraordinary skill, commitment and compassion of our physicians, nurses, health care professionals and support staff,” said Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health and CEO of the UCLA Hospital System. “I’m immensely
Photo: uclahealth.org
proud of how our teams work together every day to provide exceptional care with compassion and kindness to improve the lives of patients who come to us from across the region and around the world.” UCLA Health comprises four hospitals on two campuses — Ronald Reagan
UCLA, see page 4