My parents grew up on farms: my mother in British Columbia and my father in Pennsylvania. Both told me how they walked 5 miles in the snow to school. We were a rural society then, but they moved to the big city like everyone else. I was raised in Los Angeles.
After medical training in southern California, I decided to open a practice in northern LA County, much of which was still onion fields and farmlands.
The Santa Clarita Valley is north of Los Angeles, one valley beyond the San Fernando Valley. In early filmmaking, it was the site of silent movies and TV westerns like “Gunsmoke” and was known as “Hollywood of the North.”
Because of continued expansion and urban sprawl, the City of Santa Clarita is now the third-largest city in Los Angeles County.
On the northernmost edge of the valley is Castaic Dam, which supplies water and is adjacent to Chiquita Canyon Landfill for waste disposal. The community has grown, with streets, highways, industry, and home development now abutting this dam and landfill.
Unfortunately, the dam and landfill present flood and health risks that political overseers seemingly ignore.
California is infamous for earthquakes, with the Santa Clarita Valley near the epicenter of the Northridge quake in 1994 and the Sylmar quake in 1971. The dam is about 17 miles north as the crow flies from the unforgettable photos of collapsed freeways and overpasses taken at the southernmost part of the city.
The north Santa Clarita Valley was the site of the worst dam collapse in US history, which took almost 450 lives. The 1928 St. Francis Dam disaster was blamed on manmade engineering blunders that made the dam susceptible to failure. Flood water drowned many residents as it flowed to the ocean, which began one canyon east of the present dam.
The Castaic Dam is an earthen dam that engineers say can withstand an 8.0 earthquake. Realize that this is only an estimate. What if this is another blunder? This dam also holds back almost eight and one-half more water than St. Francis Dam, making it a more significant threat.
The adjacent Chiquita Canyon Landfill was deemed “full” several years ago, but the ensuing political debate kept it open and expanding. More recently, the odors have increased, and an internal fire has been detected. That is correct; a fire is burning in the landfill. What are the ramifications?
Of course, the residual smoke can contain harsh chemicals that might be hazardous to health. Many residents of the nearby town of Val Verde have complained, and public hearings are taking place…like in the past.
A recent independent study by a company contracted by the county concluded “that there are no adverse long-term health risks to local residents.”
As a house call physician who visits patients in the area, I have seen the opposite. One of my patients afflicted with post-polio syndrome occasionally requires a home ventilator for breathing. In the past several years, she has had increased hospitalizations and is now in a pulmonary rehab center in Los Angeles because she cannot return to her Val Verde home. Is she the “canary in the coal mine” being more sensitive and affected by aerial contaminates?
Landing on deaf ears is the leakage of contaminated material into the local groundwater and the internal fire. Landfills are known to produce methane. Can it explode? Of course.
This is the making of a “Hollywood of the North” movie, with a vast earthquake rupturing the dam, flooding and quickly eroding the landfill, releasing methane, then igniting, causing an explosion! Made for Hollywood in our backyard.
My duty as a physician is to practice preventive medicine: Don’t smoke, drink alcohol excessively, use illicit drugs, etc. Can politicians practice environmental prevention?
Let me provide suggestions for this prevention:
– Close the Chiquita Canyon Landfill.
– Set a closure date and look for another place to send trash. New York City puts it on barges and transports it outside the city. California might gain retribution for immigrants and send it to Texas or Florida.
– Have better data collection from the AQMD, EPA, and Department of Health monitoring the air and illness statistics of those residing around the landfill.
– Check the groundwater for pollutants and allow the public to see this data.
– Put out the fire, extract the methane from the landfill, and devise a way to recycle it, possibly into methane-driven cars.
– Warn Val Verde only to accept donated land atop the landfill once it is closed if methane levels above and below ground are measured. We don’t need a landfill-donated park or school exploding from methane buildup.
– Before we drain Castaic Lake, we should consider developing warning devices to protect the downstream public in case of an earthquake.
– We should utilize tech alerts (if cell towers are functional) to get vehicles off the roads quickly, directions to flee, and instructions on how to get to higher ground, just like we already do in tsunami areas.
– Know that environmental engineers have already developed flood data that give direction, speed, and water depth in case of a dam rupture, and with this knowledge can ultimately save lives.
Indeed, my parents told me they had to walk 5 miles in the snow to school in their rural life. But at least in British Columbia and Pennsylvania, they did not have to worry about dams rupturing or landfills exploding.
Gene Dorio, M.D.
Dr. Gene Dorio is a geriatric physician in the Santa Clarita Valley, past President of the Los Angeles County Commission for Older Adults, and an Assembly Member of the California Senior Legislature.
Tell supervisor Kathryn Barger (mailto:Kathryn@bos.lacounty.gov) about it. She voted to increase the landfill to gargantuan size instead of closing it as was planned. Now we’re in an election year and her deception is on full display. Vote her out!
Hello, I was a Castaic resident and was assuredthe base of the dam was so wide a regular earth quake would not crack but just start to leak aand then have time to flee any flood……as told by the Cordova family.
Excellent communication and examples. This is well thought-of.
Born in Torrance, much of my life was spent in Los Angeles county, including North Hollywood. Alook at 19tg century California maps show large watery areas, such as the San Joaquin valley. Dams have made these areas profitable farm land. And, areas for roads and housing. The Santa Clarita valley is no exception. We need stronger dams and dependable water for drinking and cooking. Stronger dams cost more to build, but save money and lives when disaster strikes. Earthquakes will occur. Just when and exactly where will always be the ubknown.
Thank you for your wise input.
Good morning Dr. Dorio, as usual this is well written with some specificity as far as who will handle what. What makes sense to me is that someone or entity is overseeing all of your listed bullet points and any progress being made on them.
Your friend Sharon Jones