RPV City Council Reviews Landslide Impact and Dewatering Efforts

RANCHO PALOS VERDES — At the Nov. 4 city council meeting, city staff gave a comprehensive update on the landslide emergency and the impact of deep dewatering wells. From September-October 2025, movement continued to slow considerably, decreasing from an average rate of 1.8 inches per week within the active landslide area, to 1.46 inches per week. As a reminder, Southern California Edison or SCE previously stated that a continued and sustained reduction in land movement near its electrical infrastructure to less than 1 inch per week would be necessary for the utility to consider re-energizing the Portuguese Bend Community Association neighborhood, which has been without service since September 2024.

The city’s deep dewatering wells have removed over 370 million gallons of groundwater from the toe of the Portuguese Bend Landslide since last fall, with eight wells currently pumping out approximately 1 million gallons per day. The Klondike Canyon Landslide Abatement District’s two deep dewatering wells are removing approximately 400,000 gallons per day, and the Abalone Cove Landslide Abatement District’s 16 dewatering wells (including seven original wells and nine deep dewatering wells) are removing approximately 165,000 gallons per day. The combined dewatering efforts are believed to have had a dramatic impact on reducing land movement.

City staff continues to “winterize” Upper Altamira Canyon and Portuguese Canyon for the rainy season, with this work expected to be completed by late November or early December. Staff is performing maintenance elsewhere in the landslide area where these measures are already in place.

Finally, the council renewed for 60 days the local emergencies in the landslide area and the temporary prohibition of motorcycles and bicycles along a two-mile stretch of Palos Verdes Drive South.