Irvine Co. agrees to drainage improvements

Selicia Kennedy-Ross

CRYSTAL COVE -- Concerns voiced by local residents, environmental

activist groups, the Environmental Protection Agency and the California

Coastal Commission about water runoff into the state park have spurred a

local developer to propose several improvements to a controversial

development’s drainage system.

But not all activists are fully satisfied.

The Friends of the Irvine Coast has asked an independent hydrologist to

study the changes proposed by the Irvine Co. for its 800-home development

planned for the land between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach.

Hydrologist Robert Coats of Oakland, Calif., is reviewing the proposed

changes, which would improve the development’s drainage systems.

The proposed new system would capture and treat storm water runoff so

that it does not enter nearby creeks which empty into the ocean, said

Larry Thomas, spokesman for the Irvine Co.

“We have met with the Irvine Co. and listened to their changes, which

sound like good ones. But we are hoping to get more information from the

hydrologist as to what he thinks might be improvements to these changes,”

said Fern Pirkle, president of the Friends of the Irvine Coast.

The biggest change suggested by the developer is the proposed

installation of a well-and-pump system. It is designed to intercept and

collect runoff water from the development before it reaches the ocean and

export it into a sewage treatment system.

The runoff water will be treated in the sewage system and disposed of

several miles up the coast to ensure contaminants will not reach the

beach, Thomas said.

Also among the proposed changes are frequent street-sweeping to remove

debris that would otherwise clog the drainage system; a storm drain

system that could catch and filter out debris; and the use of native

plants to further reduce the amount of runoff.

“These changes give us an added measure of assurance to those concerned

about runoff from our project,” Thomas said.

However, the sewer system would not be able to contain all storm water.

The Irvine Co. also has proposed a community education plan to provide

residents with information about the importance of preventing pollution

in storm water runoff.

Mary Blake, executive director for the Alliance to Rescue Crystal Cove,

said she was pleased with the proposal.

“I want to praise the Irvine Co. for the major job it has done

redirecting dry and storm water flow coming from the top of the San

Joaquin corridor,” Blake said. “The Alliance and other environmental

groups such as Surfrider, the Sierra Club and Coastkeepers want to work

closely with the Irvine Co. on the remainder of the project.”

The first phase of the Crystal Cove development will be completed in the

spring.

The Friends of the Irvine Coast expects to have the results of Coats’

study in about a week, Pirkle said.