City Council votes to oppose waiver

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- Sewage is coming too close to local beaches, the City

Council decided Tuesday.

Amid a hot debate between environmentalists and representatives of the

Orange County Sanitation District, the council voted unanimously at its

meeting to push for stepped-up treatment of sewage sent into the ocean

off the city’s shores.

Councilman Tod Ridgeway, who represents the city on the district’s

25-member board, said he will vote against a federal waiver that allows

the district to send 243 million gallons of sewage into the ocean after

just filtering out solids. This primary treatment should be supplemented

with the secondary steps required to kill many of the microorganisms and

sift out even more of the solids, the council decided.

“This is one of the most important things we can do for our

community,” Ridgeway said.

The council decision puts Newport Beach in alliance with Huntington

Beach and Seal Beach in opposition to the waiver -- a move that could pit

coastal cities against those inland in a fight over who should pay for

clean coastlines.

Current estimates show it will cost about $400 million to build

secondary treatment plants on existing sites in Fountain Valley and

Huntington Beach. This could add about $78 a year to the average Orange

County homeowner’s current sewage treatment expense of $102.

Two sanitation district representatives argued at the meeting that the

costly treatment might not even achieve the city’s goals of ensuring

cleaner, safer water for swimmers and surfers.

“There’s no scientific evidence to support going to full secondary

treatment,” said Dr. Jeff Armstrong, a biologist for the district.

Armstrong said the secondary treatment being considered is not the

equivalent of disinfection and might not significantly reduce the levels

of illness-causing bacteria and viruses that have been detected as close

as a half-mile from city beaches. He said evidence suggests that the

current treatment is adequate.

“I don’t want adequate,” Councilman Steven Bromberg said. “I want the

very best we can get.”

Ridgeway said the city should examine some alternative technologies,

such as ultraviolet treatment, that could be less expensive and more

effective.

The Ocean Outfall Group, which is made up of community members to

study sewage treatment options, is examining cutting-edge alternatives.

It’s possible that this push could lead toward full reclamation of county

sewage water for drinking water, Ridgeway said.

About 70% of county water now arrives through this toilet-to-tap

process, which usually includes microfiltration and aerobic treatment to

kill microorganisms.