Newport seeks funds to divert urban runoff

Susan McCormack

NEWPORT BEACH -- The city has requested $100,000 from the county to

increase its storm drain diversion program, which city officials say has

been extremely successful at Newport Dunes.

With four proposed diversion projects in place, urban runoff would be

redirected to flow through sewers rather than storm drains, said Dave

Kiff, deputy city manager.

The runoff would then be cleansed by the sanitation district in the same

way that wastewater from toilets and showers is treated, before being

released into the ocean about 4 1/2 miles out.

When runoff flows straight into storm drains, it eventually flows into

the bay -- muck, toxic waste and all. Bob Caustin, president of Defend

the Bay, a Newport-based nonprofit preservation group, said pollutants

entering the bay include motor oil and metallic dust from the brake pads

of automobiles, among others.

Caustin noted that the diverted runoff isn’t chlorinated when treated, so

it’s not safe for swimmers once it is released into the ocean. However,

he said he considers the projects are a step in the right direction.

“[The runoff] is farther from human contact and gets more diluted,”

Caustin said. “It doesn’t get stuck in the bay where it just swashes

around.”

After attending Thursday’s county Coastal Coalition meeting, where he

learned that officials believe urban runoff was the likely cause for this

summer’s Huntington Beach closures, Kiff said it is imperative that

Newport Beach create more diversion projects.

“It’s important so that what happened in Huntington Beach doesn’t happen

here,” Kiff said. “If we can [create diversion projects for] some of our

hot spots, we can avoid future beach closures.”

Of the four locations being considered for the projects, three are now

emptying into the Back Bay or Newport Harbor.

At the Arches Interchange, the storm drain that empties urban runoff into

Lower Newport Bay could contaminate water around Newport Island, Kiff

said. Runoff from Newport Heights, Costa Mesa’s East Side and the Hoag

Hospital area flows into the storm drain.

The Westcliff area of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa’s East Side also

create runoff that flows into a drain emptying into the area where the

Back Bay and the harbor meet.

The third project would redirect runoff from the Newport Center area that

spills from a storm drain into the Lower Harbor, near the Bahia

Corinthian Yacht Club.

The fourth project would involve research to determine if diversion is

possible and economical for the Buck Gully and Little Corona areas.

Before the projects may begin, the Harbor Quality Committee has requested

additional testing by the county’s Environmental Health Division to

ensure that the four projects really are the most urgent ones in the

city.

The county’s Coastal Coalition is accepting requests for funds for two

more weeks, Supervisor Tom Wilson said at Thursday’s meeting.

Wilson said the coalition has $250,000 to dole out and has received

requests totaling $460,000 from the cities of Newport Beach, Dana Point,

Laguna Beach and San Clemente.

“There are more projects than money,” Wilson said, adding that the

coalition’s board will consider “splitting the pie” between the cities.

Kiff said the city has preliminarily determined that each project would

cost $50,000. The city will pay for half the cost of each project, Kiff

said.