 coalition of local organizations gathered
at Tourmaline Surfing Park last month to mark the 25th anniversary of the
Clean Water Act. The Act's main goals are zero discharge of pollutants into
navigable waters by 1985, and swimmable and fishable waters by 1983. A quarter
century later these goals have not been met. In fact, the most recent Environmental
Protection Agency's National report on the state of our nation's waterways
found that "40 percent still are not safe for fishing or swimming."
While community activists, businesses, industry, and federal, state, and
local governments work together to address water pollution problems, the
federal law needs to be strengthened and better enforced.
 A Prescription for Clean Water
describes six challenges that we must undertake to help reach these goals:
· We must clean up and prevent toxic water pollution
including polluted runoff, which threatens the health of our families.
· We must save America's wetlands because they can
clean our drinking water, help filter pollution out of our waterways, protect
our communities from floods, and sustain fish and wildlife.
· We must guarantee Americans their right to know
whether our water is safe for drinking, fishing, or swimming.
· We must carry out our responsibility to protect
America's lakes, rivers, and estuaries for future generations.
· We must enforce environmental laws more effectively
to stop illegal pollution and make polluters pay to clean up their mess.
· We must spend what is necessary for clean water.
The number one cause of water pollution
in this country is polluted runoff. The health risks and economic consequences
associated with polluted runoff are serious. Wetlands destruction, urban
sprawl, failure to include pollution prevention programs in local land use
planning, and lack of enforcement of existing Clean Water Act standards
all contribute to more runoff pollution. In San Diego, twenty-five years
after the law was passed, many of our beaches and bays are posted with signs
due to polluted runoff. Last year, San Diego experienced 270 beach and bay
closures; at least 50 percent were due to polluted runoff. "Unsafe
levels of bacteria levels have forced the posting of signs at Coronado's
North Beach" said Steve Ogles, founder of Coronado Friends of the Beach.
"The City of Coronado has also failed to comply with the Clean Water
Act and continues to discharge without the required permits."
Moreover, San Diego Bay is still
being polluted with toxins. "Discharge permits for industries near
San Diego Bay have been expired for years, the Navy facilities are still
unpermitted, and Navy vessels, the largest source of oil spills into the
bay, are exempt from environmental regulation," said Laura Hunter,
Clean Bay Campaign director of the Environmental Health Coalition.
There have been many Clean Water
Act successes in San Diego. Since July 1996 the County Department of Environmental
Health and the City of San Diego have been monitoring storm drain runoff
and working to identify the upstream sources of pollution. The San Diego
City Council allocated $565,000 to begin diverting dry weather polluted
runoff into the sewer system.
Most recently, Assemblymember Howard
Wayne's "Right to Know Bill" (AB 411) was signed into law, establishing
statewide water quality standards that will help protect the health of beachgoers.
Polluted runoff legislation (AB 1429) sponsored by Wayne also became law.
We still face many challenges. "We need to strengthen the Clean Water
Act to implement enforceable pollution prevention programs and establish
minimum penalties for serious and chronic violations," said Donna Frye
of Surfers Tired of Pollution.
Wetlands protection must also be
increased. "Wetlands help absorb and filter out pollution. This helps
keep our water supplies clean and makes our oceans safer to swim in,"
added Eric Bowlby, Co-Chair of the San Diego Chapter, Sierra Club Coastal
Committee.
Community right to know provisions
must also be strengthened. "When government agencies fail to enforce
water quality standards, the law provides for the public to, in effect,
step into the role of Federal prosecutor and bring 'citizen suits' against
polluters," stated Ken Moser, Executive Director of the San Diego BayKeeper.
That role must be amended to allow citizens to bring penalty actions for
past violations.
By strengthening the Clean Water
Act and by immediately starting work to clean up polluted runoff, we can
ensure that our children will one day enjoy a Coronado, San Diego Bay, and
Pacific coastline that is cleaner than the one our parents left us.  | 
