Watchdog group forming to monitor coastal waters

Kenneth Ma

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- A new environmental watchdog is in the works to

monitor Orange County’s beaches.

The countywide nonprofit organization, dubbed Coastwatch, will serve to

educate people and to protect and monitor the county’s coastline to

improve water quality and curb beach closures, organizers said. It is

expected to be launched next month.

Coastwatch was created “as a result of the shocking awareness last summer

that our urban lifestyle was damaging the beaches,” said co-founder Steve

Bone, who is president of the Waterfront Hilton Beach Resort. “In the

last few years, businesses have moved into Orange County with an

anticipation of a high quality of life, which includes having a clean

environment.”

Last summer’s ocean closures due to high bacteria levels inspired Bone

and other Huntington Beach business leaders and residents to start laying

plans for a water-quality organization modeled after Heal the Bay in

Santa Monica.

Co-founder Anthony Brown, a local environmental consultant, said

Coastwatch is needed because there are no groups in Orange County with a

strong voice on water-quality issues.

“The people in Orange County want to know that the beaches are clean,” he

said. “The beach is the biggest draw we have in Orange County for both

individuals and businesses.”

Bone said the organization will be dedicated to keeping the coastline

clean for residents and visitors.

It is expected to cost $200,000 to operate annually. Funding, Brown said,

is expected to come from governmental agencies, as well as corporate and

private donors.

The organization is expected to have up to 30 people on its board of

directors, which will be made up of government officials, business

people, academics and environmentalists. Its headquarters will be in

either Irvine or Huntington Beach, Brown said.

Coastwatch, said organizers, will focus on three main areas:

* education -- implementing education programs through schools,

government agencies and businesses to inform them of water-quality

problems;

* protection -- monitoring the beaches by taking samples to ensure the

county’s water-quality does not degrade further;

* activism -- bringing the message of environmental protection through

the media and governmental agencies to catch polluters.

“The goal of Coastwatch is to work with cities, the county and businesses

to improve water quality,” Brown said.

Bone said he believes urban runoff may be a cause of some of the bacteria

problems at area beaches. Urban runoff is caused by everyday water uses,

such as washing cars and hosing down sidewalks. The water enters rivers

or flood control channels and eventually is discharged into the ocean.

Inland cities need to realize their residents’ lifestyles affects the

beaches, Bone said.

“If you cure the watershed, you cure the beach,” he said.

Like Heal the Bay, Coastwatch plans to eventually create an annual beach

report card for Orange County. Heal the Bay’s study grades beaches on a

scale of A, which is excellent, to F in Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, and

Santa Barbara counties.

In addition, Coastwatch will pursue litigation against polluters if

necessary, Brown said.

Gordon Labedz, a spokesman for the Surfrider Foundation, said his

organization looks forward to working with the new group.

“It is very exciting that the business community is finally realizing the

value of our beaches,” he said. “The more environmental groups, the

better. Orange County has way too few environmental watchdog groups.”

Labedz said Aliso Creek in Laguna Beach, Doheny State Beach in Dana

Point, Seal Beach and the mouth of the Santa Ana River next to Huntington

State Beach are the poorest in water quality.

“I call them toxic hot spots,” he said.