Experience makes one wonder: just what will it take to get the city to properly post polluted beaches ... or to permanently solve the problem.
by Gary Taylor
What surfers and some scientists have known for some
time has been verified by county health officials: runoff from storm drains
is polluted and poses a public health risk, and even upscale La Jolla is
not immune.
The first week of October, signs warning of contaminated
runoff were posted at three La Jolla beaches, and a grass roots environmental
group is calling for increased monitoring of storm drain outfalls at 13
beaches between La Jolla Shores and Point Loma.
But a few day later, many of the signs had been
removed, apparently by unwitting souvenir seekers, according to Donna Frye,
spokeswoman fro Surfers Tired of Pollution (STOP).
After the group lobbied local elected officials,
including San Diego City Councilmember Byron Wear, for better monitoring
of storm drain outfalls at local beaches, county officials released test
results showing outfall material running onto beaches to be far above acceptable
standards for body contact.
County water standards regard water unsafe if
more than 1,000 total coliform bacteria are found in 100 milliliters of
water; another standard used the ratio of 200 fecal coliform bacteria per
100 milliliters of water. At the foot of Windansea Beach (Bonair Street),
tests showed material coming from a storm drain to have 23,000 total coliform
bacteria per 100 ml on July 29 and 16,000 on Aug. 8. Similar results were
found at the foot of Avenida de la Playa at La Jolla Shores and Tourmaline
Surf Park. County officials maintain that although the storm drain flow
is above the body contact standards for recreation, ocean water levels have
remained low.
That disclaimer is not good enough for Frye and
others who see polluted runoff onto beaches as a real and present hazard,
especially to children who play in the polluted water that tends to pool
on the beach, even in dry weather. And despite the ocean's ability to disperse
pollution, a study conducted along Los Angeles beaches concluded that people
swimming and surfing near storm drains have a 50 percent higher chance of
becoming ill.
"Many times, this liquid is clear and doesn't
have a noticeable odor. There are no signs posted in the area and people
make the wrong assumption that it must be okay," Frye said. Frye added
that she has warned parents not to let their kids play in the runoff water,
sometimes with less than positive results.
"Some people have told me to mind my own
business, that if the water was polluted there would be sign posted,"
she added. "I tell them that it is polluted and there are no signs
because the City says they don't have the money for monitoring the pollution
or maintaining warning signs." One city employee incredulously claimed
that the City couldn't put up the signs because of "liability problems."
Frye points out that the liability should lie with the City not taking action
where problems such as this are documented.
Since January, S.T.O.P. has compiled a list of
13 beaches with significant-sized storm drains in the area. At least a dozen
more similar sized drains can be found at North County beaches. As a result
of its research, STOP is calling for more extensive storm drain outfall
monitoring, the permanent posting of signs in chronically polluted areas,
and ultimately, diverting storm drain runoff into the sewage system where
it can be treated and release through ocean outfalls. One such diversion
system exists in Mission Bay.
Frye says there is funding available to finance
testing and signs through a fee paid by San Diego city residents on their
monthly sewer bill, and from a lawsuit settlement the city paid to clean
up sewage spills at Los Peñasquitos Lagoon. However, city officials
warn it will cost much more to permanently divert storm drain runoff into
the sewer system, even during dry weather when the system is not taxed by
heavy rains.
"Yes, it's going to cost money ," says
Frye, "but isn't the money well spent to keep the people on the beaches
safe? As a public health issue, to me it's a no-brainer. I guess you have
to ask the question, 'How much is human health worth?'"
Gary Taylor is editor of The Beach News, a
weekly newspaper distributed along the coast from Del Mar to Oceanside.
Just as SDET was going to press, we obtained a
memo signed by Council members Mathis and Wear to City Manager Jack McGrory
requesting him to "expedite the completion of..." feasibility,
costs and potential funding sources for constructing structures to divert
low-flow storm drain runoff, a signage design for storm drain outlets where
public contact with pollution is likely, and a report on storm drains at
city beaches which have dry weather flows that the public could likely come
in contact with.
The memo also acknowledges, "The County's
tests found that bacteria counts in the runoff flowing across the beaches
... were at extremely unsafe levels for human contact. The County's policy
is not to close the beaches in these instance unless the runoff is causing
ocean bacteria counts to become harmful. As a result, while the public may
be prevented from entering the ocean when it is polluted, it risks contact
with bacteria laden runoff simply by walking on the beach. These stream
of runoff can be especially attractive to children yet no warning signs
or diversion systems are in place."
Way to go S.T.O.P! We're hopeful that Wear and
Mathis will stay on the chase. Donna Frye will. Now let's hope for a timely
response from Mr. McGrory and his staff, and check to see if other cities
and the County get the idea.
