Manhattan Beach, if you want cleaner ocean water (you do), you're going to have to abide with a little extra construction for a few months. A project to install special trash capture devices that are designed to trap the debris before it enters the ocean begins in Manhattan Beach this week.

The Santa Monica Bay Trash Capture Project involves installing stormwater treatment devices and underground systems at key locations throughout the city. New High Flow Capacity Trash Treatment Control Devices (known by the super-catchy acronym HFCTTCDs) will capture trash before it reaches the ocean.

The planned work consists of installing stormwater treatment devices in catch basins at various locations throughout the city. In addition, three larger, end-of-pipe stormwater treatment systems will be installed underground near 14th St. & Ocean Drive; 24th St. & Ocean Drive; and 39th St. & the beach parking lot.

During this time, traffic lanes on Ocean Drive near 14th St. and 24th St. will be restricted, with possible temporary limitations to driveway access within the work zone. Detours may be required, but access for residents, services, and emergency vehicles will be maintained throughout the project.

Additionally, work will begin this week on a two-month project that includes the installation of a hydrodynamic separator—an underground concrete structure—on 24th St. (a walk street), just west of Ocean Drive. Traffic lanes on Ocean Drive near 24th St. will be restricted, and pedestrian access on 24th St. will be limited in the work area.

The project is part of a larger effort to enhance water quality within the Santa Monica Bay and its shoreline; and to meet trash limits define by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. 

In Southern California, millions of pounds of trash and debris accumulate annually in roads, parking lots, and urban areas during the long dry season and are then flushed into storm drains by the first major rainfall.