WHAT’S UP -- steve smith

A couple of years ago, I was asked what posed the greatest threat to the

American family. Without hesitation, I replied, “pollution.” It isn’t

just pollution’s darkest side -- the decreased ability to breathe or the

increased possibility of getting sick from our saltwater -- that had me

concerned. It was the idea that families could not be where they needed

to be most once they were out of their own home.

“Pollution,” I said, “will keep people away from places like the beach.

Once that happens, it is the beginning of our end.”

Our neighbors in Huntington Beach are going through one of the worst

tragedies to befall the county in recent memory. From the looks of it,

the bacteria and sewage that has infected their coastline will make the

bankruptcy look like a tea party.

The cost of the cleanup is not the only problem, it’s the fact that this

could signal the fateful beginning of the end of our local lifestyle. The

pollution, you see, will not stop at the Huntington Beach city line.

Germs don’t carry maps.

As recently as last Aug. 28, the Newport Beach City Council, through

Mayor O’Neil, issued a water-testing report which showed that Newport

waters were safe. The mayor’s letter came one day after county workers

indicated that the polluted Huntington water was headed to Newport.

I have no indication that Newport waters are not safe. The sky over the

beaches of Newport is not falling. But the Huntington Beach scum must

serve as a wake-up call for us to start living the clean life.

The problem in Huntington, after a $1.2-million search found no source,

is quite likely folks with the same bad habits as you and me. It’s you

and me and the small leak in the car we drive. It’s you and me and the

animal poop we don’t scoop. It’s you and me and a thousand other ways we

use our drainage system as a trash can.

Doug Farnham, 31, is a member of the steering committee for the Newport

Beach chapter of the Surfriders Foundation. In case you haven’t heard,

the Surfriders Foundation is in its 16th year and is no longer a band of

surfers trying to protect their spots.

The Surfriders Foundation now has more than 25,000 members in 42 chapters

worldwide.

In Newport, Farnham is the guy who chairs the ultra-successful “Test and

Teach” program at Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar high schools.

“Over 85% of ocean pollution comes from urban runoff,” Farnham told me,

“And there isn’t one specific source. It comes from our streets and our

driveways and our storm drains directly to the ocean.”

One of the greatest effects of beach pollution for Newport Beach and

Costa Mesa will be economic. Disneyland may have put Orange County on the

map, but our beaches have kept it there as tourists flock to our

beautiful shores. The beach closures in Huntington affected businesses of

all types and sizes and is sure to happen here, too, unless we are

careful.

It won’t be hard to ruin our beaches. Newport has 2,000 storm drains that

dump runoff into the water, many of which bring pollution from other

cities. That’s a lot of opportunities to make beaches dirty.

Farnham offered several ways for people to stop beach pollution. “The

Surfriders Foundation is nonpartisan, so we encourage people to write to

elected officials of any party. And we need to look at ourselves and the

little things we can do and try to incorporate these things into our

lives.”

There is one more way. You can join the thousands of Surfriders

Foundation members who work to keep our beaches clean. These people

aren’t the activist style; you won’t seem them chaining themselves to a

buoy or forming a human blockade at a storm drain. This is an action

group. Whether it’s stenciling the “Drains to Beach” signs on our sewers

or testing our waters, these are people who get things done. What they

are doing benefits everyone and they deserve our support. As of this

week, I am a Surfriders member.

The Surfriders Foundation meets the second Tuesday of every month.

November’s meeting is on the 9th at 7 p.m. at the Oasis Senior Center in

Newport Beach. For more information, call Doug Farnham at (949) 632-6273.

Enjoy the beaches as you always have, but respect them, too.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and freelance writer. He can be

reached at (949) 642-6086 or by e-mail at o7 dailypilot@latimes.com.f7