Sewage study inconclusive, scientists say
Paul Clinton
NEWPORT BEACH -- The Orange County Sanitation District still cannot
pinpoint the exact cause of bacterial contamination on the Newport Beach
and Huntington Beach coastline, even after a $5.1-million study.
At a special district board meeting Wednesday evening, a panel of
scientists who took ocean water samples during the summer last year said
the district’s sewage plume could not be pinpointed as the primary
culprit.
“The contamination problem is complex,” said District Technical
Services Director Bob Ghirelli. “It’s made up of multiple sources that
all contribute to the problem.”
Ghirelli, and several of the scientists hired by the district to
complete the study, said the plume isn’t the sole cause of high-bacteria
readings at the Newport Pier and surf zone contamination in Huntington
Beach.
The district pumps 240 million gallons a day out of an outfall pipe on
the ocean floor. The pipe releases the treated sewage about 4 1/2 miles
out to sea.
During the study, the team of scientists collected samples of water at
both the shoreline and at offshore testing stations.
The inconclusive report failed to convince environmentalists who have
been calling for more comprehensive treatment of the released sewage that
the plume should be taken off the hook.
Bob Caustin, who founded Defend the Bay to help clean up Upper Newport
Bay, said the district was “in denial” about its role in contaminating
Orange County’s recreational waters.
“They got the answer they wanted,” Caustin said about the study. “No
answer.”
Caustin and other environmentalists have led the charge against the
district’s federal waiver granted by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The waiver allows the district to dump sewage not treated to the
standards set out by the Clean Water Act of 1972. The waiver was first
granted in 1985 and renewed in 1998. It will be up for renewal again
later this year.
During Wednesday’s four-hour session, a string of scientists who
collected data mapped out preliminary results of what they found. The
final report will be released in October.
The team of scientists studied summer weather conditions under a
“worst-case scenario” to view contamination at its highest levels,
district spokeswoman Lisa Murphy said.
The scientists mapped out a “Newport Canyon Hypothesis,” in which
sewage from the plume could travel toward shore in an underwater channel
and head north about a half-mile offshore to contaminate Huntington
Beach.
Caustin dismissed the theory as creative thinking.
But the scientists said their data shows that bacteria contamination
further offshore is not traveling to the shoreline.
Some officials questioned the purpose of the study.
“What we know now is less than we knew going in there,” Newport Beach
Mayor Tod Ridgeway said. “I left last night shaking my head.”
After receiving the comprehensive study on Wednesday, the district
must now decide whether to continue its operations status quo or increase
treatment of the sewage.
One option on the table is to disinfect the sewage with
industrial-strength bleach. That would kill the bacteria but not the
viruses.
At a June 26 meeting, the district will consider other treatment
options. The cost of stepping up treatment to what is known as “full
secondary” -- which renders the treated water clear -- is about $400
million.
Ridgeway said he didn’t necessarily support that costly method. He
said he did support bleaching the sewage, which costs about $5 million
per year.
* Paul Clinton covers the environment, John Wayne Airport and
politics. He may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7
paul.clinton@latimes.comf7 .
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