City expected to oppose sewage waiver

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- The City Council next week is expected to jump aboard

a growing movement to insist water pumped off its shores be treated and

cleaned more completely than it is now.

But the $400-million price tag to better treat the water may be more

than taxpayers throughout the county are willing to pay.

The City Council on Tuesday is poised to take a stand against the

Orange County Sanitation District’s request to continue to send sewage

into the ocean at current treatment levels.

Now, about half the 240 million gallons of waste water dumped each day

about four miles offshore from the city’s border with Huntington Beach is

treated only by sifting out raw sewage solids. The other half undergoes

additional treatment to kill microscopic contaminants -- bacteria and

viruses that include E. coli and other harmful and harmless

microorganisms.

In a move that could pit coastal cities against inland areas, the

council will likely follow suit with Huntington Beach and Seal Beach to

demand all the waste water undergoes this secondary treatment.

“It would be irresponsible for us to continue to support dumping 240

million gallons a day on our city beaches of this 50-50 mix,” said

Councilman Tod Ridgeway, who represents the city on the sanitation

district’s 25-member board of directors.

But the cost to step up treatment could kill the plan in its tracks.

To build treatment facilities on existing sites in Fountain Valley and

Huntington Beach, it is estimated that the average county homeowner’s

$102 sewage fee, which appears on annual tax bills, would jump to about

$180.

What’s more, some warn, this cost is no guarantee the coastline will

be free of contaminants.

“There are a number of community concerns that may not be fixed by

going to full secondary treatment,” said Lisa Murphy, spokeswoman for the

sanitation district. “This would not guarantee, for example, that the

contamination along Huntington Beach will be gone.”

Murphy said studies on the contamination that closed Huntington Beach

two years ago suggest that storm water runoff -- not sewage -- may have

been the culprit.

Nonetheless, a number of environmentalists and residents believe that

stepping up sewage treatment is the best bet for ensuring health and

safety.

“I’m worried about the waste water that comes toward shore,” said Dr.

Jack Skinner, a Newport Beach resident who has fought to keep local

waters as clean as possible.

Skinner said viruses found in treated sewage can cause illnesses that

range from vomiting and diarrhea to, in rare cases, viral meningitis.

His position is bolstered by a 1996 study that showed that movements

of ocean water are bringing the sewage closer to the shore than

originally thought -- sometimes within a quarter-mile.

“That’s too close,” Skinner said.

The district must reapply to the Environmental Protection Agency and

the state Water Resources Control Board every five years for its

waste-water permit and accompanying waiver.

Murphy said the district is now considering whether to again request

the waiver that permits dumping at the 50-50 treatment levels. The

deadline to apply for the permit, with or without this waiver, is

December 2002.

Murphy added that public workshops will be held on the subject.

The Newport Beach City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to draft a

resolution to encourage the board to drop the waiver request in its

permit application.

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 june.casagrande@latimes.comf7 .

AT A GLANCE

* The Orange County Sanitation District pumps 240 million gallons of

treated sewage each day into the ocean about four miles offshore at the

border of Newport Beach and Huntington Beach. A below-water pipeline

basically serves as an extension of the Santa Ana River to carry the

waste offshore.

* The waste water comes from 22 cities throughout Orange County.

* Now, 50% of this sewage is treated at “primary levels,” which sifts

solid waste from the water. The other 50% undergoes “secondary

treatment,” which kills some microorganisms and more solids not caught by

primary treatment.

* Estimated cost for secondary treatment of all 240 million gallons is

about $400 million to build additional treatment plants in Fountain

Valley and Huntington Beach. It is estimated that average homeowner would

see about a 78% increase in sewage fees on annual tax bills.