JERRY PERSON -- A Look Back

I’m sure we all remember the beach closures of last year and the

problems of raw sewage entering our clear, blue Pacific Ocean around

Newport, Huntington Harbour and Seal Beach this year. A public uproar

occurred in council chambers across the county because something like

this could happen here.

This week, we’ll look at an earlier sewage problem and how a small

group of irate residents responded.

In the 1930s, Huntington Beach was the dumping grounds for many of our

neighboring cities in Orange County. Cities such as Anaheim, Buena Park,

Fullerton, Garden Grove, Orange and Santa Ana sent their waste into the

county’s sewer line that emptied into the ocean north of the Santa Ana

River.

The huge storms of 1937 and 1938 broke open the main line, pouring raw

sewage into the Santa Ana River and flooding many acres of our lowlands

nearby. Many of our residents complained to Orange County’s health

department about the intolerable stench, but no action was taken.

Minnie Higgins, a pioneer Surf City resident, took up the challenge to

stop the dumping. On Nov. 8, 1939, Higgins called a town meeting at

Memorial Hall to discuss the growing condition.

Several early residents spoke up. A Mrs. Daubendick, who lived on

California Street, told the committee of how she lost her renters because

of the foul odors. A county supervisor who also lived in Huntington Beach

told Higgins and the other committee members that the supervisors had the

matter under discussion. Right!

Newport Beach’s city engineer told the committee it was not his

problem. Anaheim’s city engineer told the committee his city had had

partial success in treating its sewage. City Engineer George Bates of

Placentia told of how he had spent 30 years studying the problem and

thought the problem came from the citrus waste water.

Huntington Beach’s own councilman, Lee Chamnes, thought it came from

the Holly Sugar factory here. Huntington Beach Mayor Marcus McCallen told

the committee that something would be done. Huntington Beach City Clerk

Charles Furr proposed that the committee pass a resolution, get 5,000

signatures and present it to the state’s board of health.

A city delegation headed by McCallen, Furr and Chamber of Commerce

Secretary Bill Gallienne traveled to Los Angeles in late November 1939

and, like Martin Luther, presented the city’s grievances to the state

board.

On Jan. 1, 1940, the state board of health ordered that the right to

pump sewage through the county’s sewer line and into the mouth of the

Santa Ana River be revoked.

This small irate band of concerned residents led by Higgins faced big

government and won and, in the end, made our coasts and surrounding

beaches beautiful to see -- and smell.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach

resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box

7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.