"This is a big [spill] for us," Haworth said. "Tens of thousands of gallons of raw sewage have certainly made it into the ocean. And a lot more than that has spilled but has been corralled" at a large pond just blocks from the pumping station.
By late Sunday night, Haworth said, sanitation workers were still attempting to repair the pumping station.
"Usually we get these up and running in a couple of hours. But this one has been pesky," he said about 8 p.m., more than 10 hours after the station broke down.
At 10 p.m. Haworth said crews still had not been able to repair the pumping station and were considering installing a 400-foot-long pipe that would carry the sewage to a sewer line leading to the Carson facility.
The repairs were initially complicated by the fact that the station was flooded because the pump was not operating. When crews arrived, they attempted to pump out the water to avoid the risk of an electrocution. When that failed, they instead decided to bypass the station and install a temporary sewage pump outside the facility.
With crews expected to work all night long, Haworth said, the cleanup would take at least two or three days.
It was unclear when the beaches would be allowed to reopen.
Once the sewage spill is contained, he said, county health officials will be in charge of testing the ocean waters for safety.
Those tests usually take at least 24 hours to complete, Haworth said.
Times staff writer Amanda Covarrubias contributed to this report.
