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.
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