Crude Oil Spring Problem, Los Angeles, California

The Problem: Forgotten old oil wells in Los Angeles were buried for surface re-development. These old oil wells leaked poisonous gases and crude oil, impacting building foundations and building occupants. An estate heir inherited his parent’s house in Los Angeles.  During his house remodel, he noticed a mud flow seeping next to the old house garage, through the back yard and exiting down the sidewalk and street. This mud flow was a problem that prevented selling the house.

This mud flow was cooled, crude oil. It had oozed from either a buried oil well or natural oil spring. The problem was that there was not a single flow oil path with depth. The entire back yard perspired individual oil droplets moving upward like an oil spring. The garage foundation area deflected the oil spring discharge to a central flow exit.

Our Solution: Our team dug a shallow cavity and backfilled the pit with gravel, creating a storage reservoir. The pit size enabled the oil seepage to collect for years and eliminate the cosmetic ugliness.

The Benefit: The estate heir was able to sell his inherited house.