Cedars-Sinai construction project creates putrid odors in Marina del Rey

Cedars-Sinai apologized for any inconvenience Marina del Rey residents endured after the hospital's construction project caused a putrid odor to spread through the coastal neighborhood. 

Neighbors said the rotten-egg smell has gotten worse over the last couple of weeks, even trailing to apartments across the street. 

"Sewage, like a toilet," neighbor Craig Lightner said. "The whole marina turned white."

Lightner keeps a boat in the marina where he captured video of what appears to be murky fluid bubbling up to the surface of the water. He said the smell has been making him sick. 

"Problems concentrating. My head. My stomach. Nausea, dizzy," Lightner said. 

He said he's worried that whatever is floating around in the water has affected the sea life. 

"There's barnacles. If you look closely over there, it's all dead," Lightner said. 

Cedars-Sinai said the smell stems from a construction project at its new Marina del Rey hospital on Lincoln Boulevard. Their contractor has been installing an emergency sewer holding tank that will help the hospital operate in the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake.

"During excavation for the tank, groundwater has periodically drained into the site and been treated before it flows into storm drains," the hospital wrote in a statement. "The water has released an odor once it mixes with storm drain runoff. Out of an abundance of caution, we have paused work on the excavation and are working closely with the city of LA Sanitation Bureau to resolve the matter."  

Los Angeles County Public Works said the city and its environmental department permitted the groundwater discharge, which is supposed to go to a city of LA catch basin. 

A city of LA environmental team is currently in the area working on the issue. 

"They turned the water flow off while they were here and it's definitely made a difference since they've turned it off," Lightner said. 

Cedars-Sinai said it prioritizes safety in this community, and it'll keep residents updated on progress.