NEWPORT BEACH : City Postpones Taking Stand on Newport Bay Project

The city will wait until Nov. 27 to take a stand on the Irvine Ranch Water District’s plan to empty treated sewage into Upper Newport Bay.

The City Council was to vote Monday night on whether to support or oppose the water district project, which would release 5 million gallons of reclaimed waste water daily into San Diego Creek near the Irvine-Newport Beach boundary and, eventually, into the bay.

Instead, council members chose to delay a decision until they receive the results of independent studies on the project’s environmental impact to the bay, City Atty. Robert Burnham said.

Opponents have said that the water district’s plan would endanger not only the delicate ecology of the bay but the public’s health.

The city expects to receive separate reports of the biological impact and public health concerns by Nov. 20.

For a fourth time, the Irvine Ranch Water District’s directors, who were to meet Monday night, rescheduled a session to certify the district’s environmental impact report. They now plan to meet next month.

The water district does not require Newport Beach’s approval for the Wetlands Water Supply Project but has been seeking city support. The project will go to the California Regional Water Quality Control Board on Jan. 5 for final approval.

In addition to the water supply project, the district has proposed paying $1.5 million for Irvine’s San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Enhancement Plan, which diverts creek water to create wetlands with ponds and islands.