RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA — Average movement across the still-active portions of Rancho Palos Verdes' sprawling landslide complex has fallen below 1 inch per week for the first time since October 2023, marking another milestone in a dramatic slowdown that could eventually help clear the way for electricity to return to the Portuguese Bend neighborhood.
The latest survey data from early August show areas still moving within the active landslide boundary averaging 0.99 inches per week, down 9.8% from July, according to the city's latest land movement update.
The figure is significant because Southern California Edison has said a continued and sustained reduction in movement near its electrical infrastructure to less than 1 inch per week would be necessary before it would consider re-energizing the Portuguese Bend Community Association neighborhood.
The entire neighborhood remains without electricity two years after power was shut off during the peak of the landslide's acceleration. City staff is meeting with SCE this month to discuss the utility's re-energization plans, city spokesperson Megan Barnes told Patch. The latest numbers do not mean all portions of the landslide complex are moving below the 1-inch threshold.
The Portuguese Bend Landslide slowed 13.9% between July and August to an average of 0.81 inches per week, while the Abalone Cove Landslide slowed 7.7% but remained above the threshold at 1.29 inches per week. The Klondike Canyon Landslide generally continued to show no measurable movement, according to the city.
Roughly 74% of the Portuguese Bend Landslide within its historical boundary is now moving at less than 1 inch per week. The longer-term change has been even more pronounced. The Portuguese Bend Landslide has decelerated by 92% since immediately before the city's deep dewatering wells were installed two years ago, according to the city's latest update.
Those wells, installed near the toe of the landslide, had removed more than half a billion gallons of groundwater by August, according to the city's Aug. 4 City Council meeting recap. Barnes said the city's geologist believes the dewatering wells and winterization measures are among the factors that have contributed to the dramatic reduction in movement over the past two years.
Efforts by the Abalone Cove Landslide Abatement District and Klondike Canyon Landslide Abatement District, which are separate government agencies responsible for landslide mitigation within their respective boundaries, have also contributed, Barnes said.
Another factor is lower rainfall compared with the historic rainfall during the winters of 2023 and 2024. The landslide complex accelerated dramatically following those back-to-back wet winters, damaging homes, roads and utilities and expanding the area of active movement from roughly 380 acres to about 700 acres, according to the city's land movement information.
SCE previously moved to restore electricity to some customers in the Portuguese Bend Beach Club and Seaview neighborhoods, but specifically excluded the Portuguese Bend Community Association neighborhood from that restoration. The city announced SCE's restoration plan in January 2025.
The continued shutoff also means the city is using costly fuel-powered generators to operate the sewer system serving the Portuguese Bend neighborhood and the deep dewatering wells, Barnes said.
The city is meanwhile nearing completion of another round of winterization work intended to limit the amount of rainwater entering the ground during the coming wet season.
Work is underway in Upper Altamira, the Seaview graben, Kelvin Canyon and Portuguese Canyon, according to the city's September landslide update. Crews have been working on drainage improvements, protective pond liner and other measures designed to reduce stormwater infiltration, while equipment associated with the dewatering wells near the shoreline is being elevated to protect it from high surf.
All winterization work remains scheduled for completion by mid-October, Barnes told Patch, with much of it expected to be finished by the end of September.
The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council on Tuesday approved another 60-day extension of the local emergency declarations covering the landslide area, Barnes confirmed.
Council members also extended for another 60 days the temporary prohibition on bicycles, motorcycles and similar wheeled vehicles along an approximately two-mile stretch of Palos Verdes Drive South through the landslide area.
The restrictions have been repeatedly renewed while movement continues and the city monitors and repairs the roadway. Council members renewed the same emergency measures in August.
Despite the steep decline in movement, city officials continue to characterize the landslide as an active emergency and are preparing the area for another rainy season. The city's latest survey data, maps and other information about the landslide are available on its land movement updates page.
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