Coastal Pollution From Urban Runoff Remains High

It may be California’s most enduring drawing card, but the beach is under bombardment like never before.

Last year, California suffered 1,141 coastal closures or beach advisories because the waves were fouled by pollutants. That total--one of the highest ever--is a quarter of the nationwide number and far more than in any other state. The tourist mecca of Orange County had a whopping 319, sunny Santa Barbara 238, San Diego 173.

And the culprit is us.

An unceasing boom in coastal growth and society’s nagging habit of washing nearly everything down the storm drain have combined to make urban runoff a top cause of water pollution in the state and nation.

Just look at the menu of flotsam flushed into the sea by storm drains and concrete-lined flood channels: Discarded motor oil, Styrofoam cups, lawn fertilizer swept away by overzealous irrigation, pesticides, restaurant grease, tire rubber and the metal dust of brake pads, pet waste and grit from construction sites.

“We’re the big polluters now--me and you,” said Tom Mumley, a state watershed management expert in the Bay Area. “It’s not industry that’s forcing the beach closures.”

Even the most wary water quality experts agree this problem can largely be remedied with a few low-tech solutions: better drainage in new developments and a little more cooperation from the polluting public. But over the past decade, state and local officials have mostly bickered while the pollution problem festered.

State water resources officials and the Coastal Commission have been wrestling for years over what to do, and only now are closing in on a long-term plan to better control runoff, stem the flow of pesticides and educate the public that all storm drains lead to the sea.

Some worry there will not be enough money to make the plan work. Congress, which spent lavishly to upgrade sewage treatment plants and curb industrial polluters, doesn’t seem in a mood to dole out much to tackle a more rangy problem. The Clinton administration has proposed $200 million nationwide to address the polluted runoff problem, but some water experts say the proposal--already under assault by fiscal conservatives--is a fraction of what’s needed.

“Everything is moving at a snail’s pace,” groused Ann Notthoff of the Natural Resources Defense Council, which has successfully sued several states and the federal government over water pollution problems. “We shouldn’t be learning to live with pollution. We should clean it up.”

The stakes are high--the health of countless beach goers who tote kids and towels to the sand only to find signs warning of contamination, and the health of a $17-billion coastal economy.

In California, 80% of the population lives within 30 miles of the sea. And whether they’re in San Pedro or Palm Springs, they play a role in the fate of coastal waters.

“People don’t realize that everything washed down the gutter eventually winds up in the ocean,” said Dr. Gordon LaBedz, a family physician. “They end up surfing or swimming in it on the weekend.”

LaBedz should know. He’s been a surfer since his teens and each morning braves the waves off his Seal Beach condominium. The beach there features some of the coast’s best shore break and some of the worst water quality, thanks to the San Gabriel River, an ocean outlet for thousands of gutters throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties.

To warn of danger, LaBedz and other members of the activist Surfrider Foundation have planted a sign in the sand warning: SURF WITH CAUTION. LaBedz continues to ply the waves at the river mouth--it’s just too good to pass up--but wears earplugs and tries to keep his head out of the water. He wants to avoid the head colds, ear infections and stomach flu many surfers for years have associated with such spots.

“If you go face first, that bacteria-laden water goes right up your nose and sits there all day,” LaBedz said. “You’re done in.”

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It doesn’t have to be that way. In a few spots on the Southern California coast, nagging water problems are already under assault.

In Orange County, officials have plans to build a small dam at the mouth of Aliso Creek in South Laguna and pump tainted water far out to sea via a sewage outfall line. Los Angeles County, which had 39 beach closures or advisories in 1997, has already diverted much of the Westside’s summer runoff into the massive Hyperion sewage treatment plant, helping the ailing Santa Monica Bay.

But those efforts are more the exception than the rule. Since federal authorities got serious about coastal runoff back in 1990, California’s efforts have only inched forward.

Environmentalists blame the delays on the state Water Resources Control Board, which is the central player in fashioning a statewide solution.

The agency, they suggest, seems reluctant to move aggressively against the powerful agricultural and development industries. Most water experts agree that agriculture is the biggest contributor to polluted runoff, while the timber industry is a major culprit along the state’s North Coast.

One state lawmaker, Sen. Dede Alpert (D-Coronado) is for the second year in a row pushing a bill that would hold the agency’s feet to the fire, compelling it to produce a workable plan. A similar bill last year was vetoed by Gov. Pete Wilson, who griped that it merely urged completion of a program already mandated by the federal government.

“We’ve spent way too much time in this amorphous planning stage,” Alpert said. “We’ve talked an awful lot about it, now it’s time to act.”

State water officials say they’re pressing ahead with cleanup plans, hoping to win final approval in December for a five-year blueprint from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal officials. But the job is staggering, they say, involving coordination by a variety of groups from land-use planners to public health agencies.

“Though there may be the appearance of stalemate, the last year has been very productive,” said John Ladd, the state water resources official in charge of crafting the guidelines.

Critics, however, say the delays have only produced wasted opportunities. As development has roared along the Southern California coast, they say, numerous chances have been squandered to include ocean-friendly drainage systems as part of new construction and renovation projects.

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Those solutions can be simple. Instead of channeling water into storm drains and hence into the sea, it can be diverted into landscaped areas, grassy ponds or dry wells to percolate harmlessly into the ground.

That’s already happening in some spots. In Washington state, some communities have retrofitted storm drains so water puddles and seeps back into the ground water instead of flowing out into the Puget Sound.

One shopping mall on the East Coast converted a large central lawn into a wetland to collect drain water. With government grants to help pay for the conversion and an immediate cost savings because mowing was eliminated, the conversion was a financial plus.

A developer in San Jose saw similar benefits. A wetland habitat was established for runoff in a 200-home tract, and the builder ended up marketing the project as a “green” development.

But absent any concrete state guidelines, few cities and counties have pushed for innovative approaches. The situation isn’t much better at the Coastal Commission, which reviews much of the state’s shoreline development. With a tight budget, the agency lacks a water quality planner to review how drainage from new development effects the ocean.

“We’ve been talking about these sorts of things for 20 years,” concluded Mumley, a state water expert. “But, as usual, when all is said and done, more has been said than done.”

While land-use changes are vital, the biggest gains could be made through public education, experts say. Each of us, they note, can be a source of ocean pollution, be it from spilling motor oil into a storm drain or failing to clean up after Fido.

“It gets down to behavior, how many small actions by people add up to significant impacts,” said Sam Ziegler of the EPA.

That can mean something as simple as cleaning up oil spills at a gas station or auto repair shop by using absorbent kitty litter rather than water and cleansers. It can mean buffing up street sweeping programs around fast food restaurants, notorious focal points for litter and grit that wash into storm drains. Or it can involve installing a brick and sand driveway, which can absorb rainwater better than a standard concrete parking strip.

While the state has grappled with a long-term plan, officials have made some headway in the real world. The state has deployed an educational campaign aimed at boaters, urging them to properly dispose of spent fuel and oil. And officials worked with Santa Cruz and Monterey on model regulations for small communities.

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But environmentalists say they see a disturbing absence of momentum, particularly among lawmakers in Sacramento.

“The political will to increase funding for these projects is nonexistent,” said Mark Gold, executive director of Heal the Bay. “Until lawmakers start earmarking funds specifically for reducing polluted runoff, we’re going to continue with the status quo.”

Even if the money and political impetus emerges, polluted runoff will probably remain an elusive foe for years to come. Changing the public’s habits remains a daunting task, and rejiggering the state’s system of storm drains will only come over the decades.

“I think we’re making great strides, but it is a generational thing,” Ziegler said. “It’s going to take time. We’re talking 10 years, 20 years to get to real solutions.”

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Beach Closures

California had 1,141 temporary beach closures or warnings due to pollution in 1997, about a quarter of the nationwide total. In addition, 37 beaches were permanently shut; 30 in San Diego County, six in Orange County and one in Santa Barbara County.

Note: In 1997, 10 of California’s 17 coastal counties regularly monitored their beaches. Those that do not are Ventura, Marin, Moendocino, Del Norte, Contra Costa, Humbolt and Sonoma. State law requires all coastal counties to monitor starting next April.

Source: Natural Resources Defense Council

San Francisco: 101

San Mateo: 223

Santa Cruz: 37

Monterey: 2

San Luis Obispo: 3

Santa Barbara: 238

Ventura: 6

Los Angeles: 39

Orange County: 319

San Diego: 173