New effort to keep pipe safe from storm damage

Paul Clinton

WEST NEWPORT -- In the event of a catastrophic storm, the Orange

County Sanitation District wants its outfall pipe to be locked in

place.

Earlier this month, the agency began a five-month project to

stabilize the massive pipe, which begins on the ocean floor at the

northern side of the Santa Ana River and heads 4 1/2 miles out to sea.

On July 12, a large floating crane began dropping heavy rocks to

the ocean bottom in an effort to stabilize the pipe, which is used to

release 243 million gallons of partially treated waste water each

day.

“We just want to make sure it is properly placed and properly

secure,” said Sonjia Wassgren, a spokeswoman for the district. “We

want to make sure if we have another El Nino-type event that the pipe

is secure.”

The protective ballast absorbs the force of large storm waves and

helps prevent erosion and settling of the pipe.

To hold the pipe in place, the district has been bringing heavy

rocks from a quarry on Catalina Island and placing them next to the

pipe. The rocks -- which weigh between 150 and 1,000 pounds -- are

brought to a barge attached to the crane. They are then loaded into a

“skip box,” and dropped into the water. Once the crane reaches the

pipe, the rocks are offloaded on the rock pile that is used as a

ballast to steady the pipe.

The existing ballast was built in the late 1960s and early ‘70s

and designed to hold the pipe in place in the event a hurricane

similar to the one that rocked the shoreline in 1939 were to strike.

The ballast, which was designed to last 50 years, has begun to

show its wear, according to an agency staff report.

Sanitation district managers completed a round of monitoring work

in 2000, in which they determined the pipe needed additional

reinforcement.

The outfall pipe reaches depths of 200 feet and is 120 inches in

diameter.

Work is expected to continue on the ballast until early November.

The district has budgeted about $5 million for the project.

To minimize the effect of the project on residents, the sanitation

district has limited work hours to between 7 a.m. and one hour after

sundown. Oftentimes, the bell from the skip loader and the crashing

of the rocks onto the underwater pile can be heard from the

shoreline. The work is about 1 1/2 miles offshore.

Boats heading to Catalina and traveling to and from Long Beach

have been forced to find a detour around the operation.

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment and politics. He may be

reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at paul.clinton@latimes.com.