Public asked to take care with water

Barbara Diamond

Folks who began flushing debris from their property when the city

outlawed blowers may want to think about trading in their hoses for

brooms.

“We are asking for the public’s help to protect the ocean from

pollution by complying with the new National Discharge Elimination System

Permit regulations, which the city is required to enforce,” said John

Pietig, assistant city manager.

Basically, the permit calls for keeping your water in your own

backyard and what does escape into the streets better be pollutant-light,

if not free. The goal is to eliminate dirt, sediment, chemicals, oils,

detergents, pet waste, vegetation clippings and construction-related

wastes from being washed into the city’s storm drains and reaching the

ocean.

A workshop on the new regulations will be held at 9 a.m., June 22 in

the City Council Chamber, 505 Forest Ave.

“The reason for the new permit was the need for greater reporting and

means of measuring compliance,” said Mayor Wayne Baglin, co-chair of the

city’s Wastewater Advisory Board and former chair of the San Diego

Regional Water Quality Board. “It adds considerable bureaucracy, and the

cities and the county have to hold themselves responsible for it because

they were lax, even negligent, in complying with the old permit.

“The other big difference is that major subdivisions and developers of

commercial properties will have to install filters or devices to keep

pollutants from exiting their properties onto the public area.”

The permit was issued in February by the regional water quality board,

which has jurisdiction over San Diego County and parts of Orange County,

including most of Laguna Beach and was subsequently adopted by the city.

Residents are being asked to use as little soap and water as possible

when washing a vehicle and avoid the use of degreasers or harsh

chemicals. Runoff should be directed to a landscaped area or planters if

feasible. When watering a lawn, the spray should be directed away from

the street, volume and velocity reduced as much as possible. Avoid

watering after applying pesticides and fertilizers, city officials said.

Fountains and swimming pools may be drained, only if the water has

been dechlorinated.

A mailer that explains water-quality issues is being prepared and will

be sent to residents in the next couple of months, according to Pietig.

In the meantime, check Web site, www.lagunabeachcity.org, for some tips.

The city has applied for a grant to fund construction of five

additional diversion units to remove pollutants from urban runoff that

may enter the storm drain system. The total project is estimated to cost

$550,000. The city would be required to come up with half, if Laguna’s

application is selected from the projects proposed by six other counties

competing for the $11.8 million under the Coastal Non-Point Source

Control Program.

No money has been allocated in the city’s 2002-03 draft budget for

storm drain repairs, replacements or construction. However, the 10-year

capital improvement program has $800,000 earmarked for the storm drains

in fiscal year 2003-04 and $1,360,000 in 2004-05.

These projects would make the storm drains carry the flow more

efficiently to the ocean.

“Ideally, all the storm drains would flow directly to the treatment

plant at Aliso Creek,” said Planning Commissioner Norm Grossman, “But it

is my understanding that water-quality people are more interested in

reducing the source of the pollution than in diversion.”

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit, also known

as the NPDES, the MS-4 or the Urban Runoff Permit, requires each city to

have a management program in place by February 13, 2003.

“Unless a violation is egregious, the rule of thumb will be to issue a

warning,” Pietig said. “‘If the warning is ignored, the city could then

cite the violators and fine them.”