Diversion of runoff begins

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT-MESA -- Orange County has begun a three-month diversion

program in the Santa Ana River to keep bacteria levels down in the waters

of Newport Beach.

The county’s Public Facilities and Resources Department installed two

large sand berms last week to keep urban runoff -- automobile oils,

animal waste and grime that washes off city streets -- out of the ocean.

The county will divert the waste water from the Santa Ana River to the

Orange County Sanitation District’s treatment plant in Fountain Valley

until Labor Day.

The county implemented a similar diversion program last summer.

“Last year’s summertime diversions did have a positive impact in

keeping area ocean waters safe,” Supervisor James Silva said. “We will

continue these efforts this year as part of our commitment to being

protective of public health.”

In addition to diverting runoff flowing from the Talbert watershed to

the Santa Ana River to the ocean, the county is also studying the types

of pollution found in runoff and their origin.

The study is expected to begin in late June.

Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said he was skeptical that the

program would reduce the high bacteria counts off Huntington Beach and

Newport Beach that have caused postings and closures in recent years.

Bacteria in the ocean are more likely to be caused by the sanitation

district’s “outflow pipe” on the ocean floor, Kiff said.

“Part of the bacteria problem is coming from these outfalls,” Kiff

said. “I don’t know how much is coming from Talbert. It’s important to

find out what the contributing source is.”

The diversion program and study is expected to cost $580,000, which

will be borne by the county, the five watershed cities -- Costa Mesa,

Newport Beach, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Santa Ana -- the

Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board and the National Water

Research Institute.

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach are both chipping in $39,000 and $1,310,

respectively.

“Although they’re the ones who are directly benefiting,” Costa Mesa

Assistant City Engineer Ernesto Munoz said about Newport Beach, “it’s

also a regional benefit.”