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.”
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