Newport council issues assurances about water

Stacy Brown

NEWPORT BEACH -- With slowing water currents easing fears about the

possibility of contaminated water crossing its ocean border, city

officials Friday issued reassurances to residents and visitors that

waters here are safe.

In a public letter, Mayor Dennis O’Neil said the waters are tested

frequently and they routinely come back with clean bills of health.

The mayor cautioned that swimming near storm drains should be avoided to

sidestep potential infection. A new state law enacted earlier this summer

expanded the county’s testing program.

The test identifies three different indicators of human pathogens. If a

particular indicator is above a certain level, the county must post the

beaches as closed.

“Given the new standards, we may see more closed beaches -- not because

they are dirtier, but because they are held to higher standards,” O’Neil

said.

City officials said a shifting tide Friday reversed the flow of

bacteria-contaminated water. A day earlier, county workers had cautioned

the currents were heading toward Newport Beach.

The cleanliness of storm drains and sewers are important indicators to

the cleanliness of the ocean, officials said. They cautioned items hosed

down into the gutter, swept into the street, or put down a storm drain

are not items that are treated. The material goes directly into the

Newport Bay or the ocean.

During summer months, those pipelines become conduits to the harbor and

ocean for dog waste, trash, fertilizers and other harmful items.

“To keep the bay clean and the beaches open, gutters must be kept dry and

residents must pick up after pets,” O’Neil urged. “Realize that if you

don’t, these materials will be in the Bay in a few days.”

O’Neil said the city has 2,000 separate storm drains that enter local

waters, with the largest tributaries to the harbor and Back Bay starting

in cities upstream such as Irvine, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana.

Upstream neighbors should be reminded to practice the same precautions

about trash, dog waste and other contaminants, the mayor said.