Sewage to be treated with bleach

Paul Clinton

Newport-Mesa -- Less than two full days after agreeing to fully

treat its waste water, water-quality regulators ordered the Orange

County Sanitation District to immediately reduce bacteria levels

using industrial bleach.

The Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board unanimously

approved changes in the agency’s ocean discharge permit, at a Friday

meeting, that directs the district to begin bleaching by Aug. 12 and

tightens monitoring standards for bacteria levels in the waste plume.

Each day, the district releases 243-million gallons of partially

treated sewage into the ocean via an outfall pipe on the ocean floor

four miles off the Santa Ana River mouth.

By requiring the district to disinfect the sewage with chlorine,

regulators said visitors to Newport Beach and Huntington Beach can

enjoy greater peace of mind while swimming in the ocean water.

“This requirement is really done in an abundance of caution to

protect public health,” said Gerard Thibeault, the board’s executive

director. “We wanted to get something in place for this beach-going

season.”

Regulators with the Environmental Protection Agency released the

proposal at a June 18 meeting. Following the vote on Friday, the

regional board will now forward the recommendation to the EPA.

Under the new proposed permit, the district would be required to

bleach the sewage, then remove the bleach using a dechlorination

chemical known as sodium bi-sulphite. Releasing high concentrations

of bleach into the ocean would kill fish and damage other marine

life.

As part of the new requirements, the sanitation district would

also be accountable for keeping the water clear within three miles of

the shore, from surface to bottom.

Now, the district is only required to worry about the top layer of

water 10 feet deep and three miles out.

Sanitation district managers said they welcomed the new

requirements.

“[Chlorination] is an excellent tool,” General Manager Blake

Anderson said. “It’s an immediate tool and it’s a well-known tool.”