Drain strains ready to go in
Jenny Marder
The City Council approved a plan Monday night that will block most of
the trash and debris collected in storm drains from flowing out onto
beaches and wetlands in Downtown Huntington Beach.
The construction contract was awarded to G.C.I. Construction Inc.
By this winter, seven high-capacity filters will be installed to
collect debris coming from 12 storm drain outlets that empty onto the
city’s beaches from Goldenwest Street to 1st Street and one that
discharges into the Bolsa Chica wetlands.
The filters will capture Styrofoam cups, cigarette butts, plastic
straws, oil, grease and other floating debris that flows through the
Downtown storm drains and strain the material out of the runoff
before it is flushed out to the city’s beaches. It will also collect
80% of “suspended solids” such as dirt, break dust, silt and other
heavy materials.
“People will see a much cleaner [beach] area, particularly in the
winter after a storm,” City Engineer Dave Webb said.
The filtration devices are known as “gross pollutant separators,”
a name that Mayor Connie Boardman said fits their description.
Bacteria, which enters the ocean through storm drain runoff by
adhering to solids and trash, will also be reduced, Webb said.
Most of the trash that comes through the pipes is collected in a
catch basin, but during heavy rains, debris gets carried into the
ocean.
Storm drain pollution can be so harmful that the Orange County
Health Department advises that people avoid swimming in the ocean 72
hours after it rains, Marine Safety Lt. Mike Beuerlein said.
“Due to storm runoff, the chance of bacteria levels increasing is
heightened,” he said.
Beuerlein welcomes “anything that will help increase the water
quality in our ocean.” The money for the project will come out of a
$4-million water quality grant that the city received from
Proposition 13 in March 2000 for water quality improvements.
The bid came in lower than expected, at about $647,000, bringing
the anticipated total cost of the project down from an estimated $2
million to slightly less than $1.2 million.
“I’m glad to see that these are finally at the cusp of being
installed,” Boardman said. “It’s nice that we’re going to be able to
stop what is currently floating out of these drains.”
Residents can play their own part in reducing storm water
pollution, Webb said.
“Most of the problem is us,” Webb said. “A lot of the trash that
flows into the storm drains comes from people throwing trash out of
car windows and into parking lots.” People need to be careful to toss
their trash into receptacles, pick up after their dogs and use less
detergents or biodegradable detergents when washing their cars.
“They need to use common sense and dispose of material. People
don’t realize, ‘Well, that’s what you’re going to swim in tomorrow.’”
Construction will begin later this summer and should be complete
by winter, Webb said.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.