For 25 years, Heal the Bay has made substantial progress in protecting California's aquatic habitats. In 1985, a group of concerned citizens assembled to force the Hyperion Treatment Plant near El Segundo to maintain proper sewage treatment. Spurred by concern for public safety, the health of the Santa Monica Bay and a belief that proper sewage treatment would be overlooked without an organization to keep tabs on the progress, this group of local residents joined forces and Heal the Bay was born.