$33M Landslide-Fixing Project Aims To Save Homes And Infrastructure

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA – Residents have a chance to weigh in on the city’s $33 million plan to deal with a once-dormant landslide complex that’s threatening to destroy homes and vital infrastructure.

The City Council on March 21 will discuss the Portuguese Bend Landslide Remediation project, which is meant to prevent further damage in a 240-acre area near the bend and the major thoroughfare of Palos Verdes Drive South, according to city documents.

The landslide complex came out of dormancy almost seven decades ago, and since then has caused enormous problems: The land shifts so much that most utilities can’t be buried underground, so sewage flows in an above-ground pipe that’s still susceptible fracture. Nearby homes are plagued with cracked walls and foundations, broken pipes and crooked windows and door frames, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In layman’s terms, the goal of the project is to prevent rainwater from entering the landslide complex and dry up water that’s already underground so that the land moves less.

Rancho Palos Verdes’ plan calls for a three-pronged approach: infilling cracks in the ground that let in rain, creating a drainage system to route water to the ocean and installing a system to relieve water pressure underground and lower groundwater levels, according to the project’s environmental impact report.

The plan is currently open for public review and comment; documents are available on the city’s website. Officials estimate it will cost $25 million for the wells and $8 million for the infilling and surface drainage systems, according to the Times.