Why is a $27 million construction site in North Manhattan Beach so quiet right now, when the rainy season is about to start? A contractor dispute is part of the answer. A calendar set by the County and the state is the rest of it. Under that calendar, the project's most important work can only happen in certain months, and the city's legal exposure for the bacteria it is trying to stop starts over on a fixed day.
The two dates are October 15 and November 1. The first passed nine days before this post went up. The second is this Sunday.
The month rule written into the plans
The 28th Street storm drain belongs to Los Angeles County, not to Manhattan Beach. A city staff report on the construction contract says that "storm drain system work related to diverting flows can only be performed between April 15 and October 15," and it calls this "a critical compliance factor" for how the project is built and how long it takes.
Diverting the flow is the core of the project. A 50-foot-deep pit at 28th Street and Manhattan Avenue will catch runoff from the existing storm drain. A pipe bored horizontally under the 2700 block of Manhattan Avenue will carry it to an underground pump station. There it passes through a trash capture device and sedimentation chambers before reaching a field of drywells, where it soaks into the ground. Eight drywells go under Bruce's Beach Park, and at least 13 and as many as 32 go under the 26th Street Parking Lot.
That leaves a window of roughly 26 weeks each year for any work that touches the county drain. The city's public updates don't say whether the connection was finished before this year's window closed. If it wasn't, the staff report's rule means that part of the job waits until next April 15.
The other calendar, and the bill attached to it
The second date explains why the city is building this at all. Under state rules in effect since July 2024, the city gets 17 days a year when bacteria can exceed the limits set by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. That year runs from November 1 to October 31. After the 17th day, the city faces a minimum penalty of $10,000 for each day over, and the penalty can grow by $10 per gallon of discharge that is out of compliance.
The volume makes that per-gallon figure matter. According to the city staff report, the 28th Street outfall releases about 25 million gallons in a 1-inch storm. It drains about 1,520 acres, which is roughly 60 percent of Manhattan Beach's stormwater, plus a small share from Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach. Long-term monitoring data show the 28th Street storm drain contributing to bacteria levels above the limits in 11 of the past 20 years.
The two calendars point in opposite directions. Work on the county drain is allowed in the dry half of the year. The penalty clock starts over just as the wet half begins.
What the water looks like at 28th Street today
Heal the Bay's 2025–2026 Beach Report Card shows the pattern clearly. Comparing the storm drain site with the Manhattan Beach Pier site shows how much of the problem comes from runoff.
| Monitoring site, 2025–26 report | Summer dry | Winter dry | Wet weather |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan Beach at 28th St. storm drain | A | A | F |
| Manhattan Beach Pier | B | A | A+ |
On a dry day, the water at 28th Street grades about the same as the water at the Pier. After rain, the Pier earns an A+ and the storm drain site earns an F. The system is sized for that gap. It is designed to capture the 85th percentile storm, which the city's project FAQ puts at about one inch of rain. Anything bigger bypasses the system and leaves through the existing 28th Street outfall, and in a power outage a diversion gate closes so flows take the original route.
Why the drill rigs ended up in a parking lot
The 26th Street lot was a deliberate choice. In 2020 the city hired CWE, a civil engineering firm, to study three possible sites: Polliwog Park, the 26th Street Parking Facility, and a beachfront site near the Marvin Braude Bike Trail. The study found Polliwog Park's soils less suitable and picked the parking lot for its feasibility and its capacity to absorb water.
The choice has a cost, and the city put a number on it. The lot took in $303,127 in meter revenue in fiscal year 2024–25, and staff estimated $352,000 to $440,000 in lost revenue over a 12-to-15-month closure. The City Council awarded the construction contract in December 2025. City staff recommended Zusser Company, Inc. for $25,308,810, plus a contingency of $2,530,881. Most of the funding comes from grants. The city lists up to $17.6 million from Measure W's Safe, Clean Water Program, $8.5 million from the state's Proposition 1 Storm Water Fund, and $4.9 million from Proposition 68.
The lot will also look different when it reopens. The plans call for new perimeter retaining walls, a pervious concrete surface that lets water soak through, restriping of the upper lot to improve circulation, new ADA-compliant spaces, removal of the staircases between the parking tiers, and accessible walking routes to the sidewalks on 26th and 27th Streets.
How 2026 has actually gone
Here is the year so far, taken from the city's project page:
- March 5: Groundbreaking at 28th Street and the Strand, followed by a March 19 community meeting at Joslyn Community Center.
- May 18: Tentative start of drywell drilling, beginning at Bruce's Beach and moving next to the 26th Street lot.
- June 11: The city announced that work was on hold while the contractor brought in "additional drilling equipment needed to resume drilling activities safely and effectively."
- July 3: With the delay, the upper lot reopened temporarily for the Fourth of July weekend. It closed again July 13, and drilling was expected to resume as early as July 22.
- August 10: The lower lot closed too, leaving the entire 26th Street lot closed "until construction activities in the parking lot are complete."
- October 6: Residents near Bruce's Beach asked the City Council for a timeline. Citizen Portal reported that Public Works said a dispute between the prime contractor and a subcontractor had reduced activity on site, and that a hearing would be scheduled in the coming weeks.
That October 6 meeting came nine days before the County window closed. The city has not posted a revised reopening date for the lot. The project close-out is still listed as summer 2027. The original FAQ estimated about 18 months of construction, phased so the whole area would not be torn up at once. It expected roughly six months of impact at the 28th Street and Manhattan Avenue intersection, six to nine months of closure on Manhattan Avenue between 26th and 27th, and 12 to 15 months of closure for the parking lot.
Parking around Bruce's Beach in the meantime
The Parking and Public Improvements Commission asked for resident parking relief in October 2025. These measures are the result, and they apply to the area bounded by Marine Avenue, Ocean Drive, 33rd Street and Highland Avenue, with Marine and Highland themselves excluded:
- Street sweeping enforcement has been suspended since July 6. The signs are still up, but tickets are not being written on sweeping days.
- Overnight parking at Grandview School's upper lot has been open since August 1 to holders of the orange Bruce's Beach Resident Overnight Parking permit, from 6:00 PM to 7:00 AM daily, in designated spaces.
- Resident-priority street permits let residents park past the posted one-hour limit between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM. No permit is needed at night or in front of your own driveway. Permits are sold at the City Hall cashier, and enforcement began September 1.
The full rules are in the city's mailed notice. Traffic Engineering answers permit questions at (310) 802-5521. Construction runs Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM, with no work on weekends or holidays. The project team takes questions at (310) 802-5014 or [email protected].
Once the project is finished, the city's annual operating cost for the system is estimated at $220,000, paid from Measure W local return funds and the city's Storm Drain Measure. Above ground, only access lids will be visible. The next public step is the hearing on the contractor dispute that Public Works said was coming. Next spring, April 15 reopens the window for work on the county drain.
The parking details above are general information drawn from city notices, not legal advice, so check the city's current rules for your block before relying on them. If you live near Bruce's Beach and want to talk through how a long public works project might affect a sale, a purchase, or simply the timing of your own plans, Liz Bird Fine Homes is happy to help you make sense of it. Let's Connect.