Plan is to block natural gas

The city will construct an underground barrier to block the natural

gas emissions that are killing grass and trees in two private

Huntington Beach yards.

It is the latest solution to a decades-old problem in the area.

Carl Wysacki has never been able to grow anything in the front

yard of his Huntington Beach home in the 40 years he has lived there.

His yard smells like rotten eggs, and in one spot, a lighted match

will flame up when held over the ground.

When residents along Christine Drive began complaining of sulfuric

odors in the 1980s, it was discovered that in certain areas,

naturally occurring methane and hydrogen sulfide was escaping through

the soil. In 1991, the city had trenches built to trap the gas

underground.

Now, outside of two homes, gas is again escaping through the

uppermost layer of clay.

Bob Dutton, an associate civil engineer with the city, said that

overall, the trench system is working “just fine” but there are some

problem spots that city needs to patch up.

“We know why the grass was dying,” Dutton said. “We did not have

enough of a clay barrier to block the gas from coming up.”

To fix the problem, city officials will dig up the trench, install

a membrane and reinforce the layer of clay that has disintegrated

over the years.

The clay will seal the gas underground and the membrane will

provide an added safety feature, Dutton said.

“Without the clay barrier, the gas is allowed to come up to the

surface,” Project Manager Chuck Burney said. “Because of the membrane

and the clay, gas will no longer reach the surface and into their

yards.”

City engineers were not able to detect any gas above the ground

that could present a safety risk for residents living nearby, Dutton

said.

“We walked all throughout the site from different spots for two

days, and we couldn’t get any reading of hydrogen sulfide or methane

at a human level,” Dutton said.

Wysacki is worried that the problem is more widespread than the

city is letting on.

“It may be possible that what is happening has spread out and is

affecting other houses,” Wysacki said. “When they plug it up, we’ll

see what happens.”

Dutton is confident that the dead patches of land in Wysacki’s

yard will start spouting grass soon after the reconstruction is

complete.

Wysacki is skeptical.

“They presented their solution to our dead grass problem,” Wysacki

said. “We agreed to go along with it and are going to proceed that

way.”

City officials are acquiring permits and working on final design

plans and could start work as soon as mid-November. Reconstruction

will only take one or two days, Dutton said.

“We’re trying to get this thing done by the end of the year,”

Dutton said. “We want to get it all done for them, and we don’t want

anybody to feel like we’re taking any shortcuts.”

Water district moves pumping inland

To prevent saltwater from seeping into the freshwater that runs

under Huntington Beach and other coastal cities, the Orange County

Water District has shifted groundwater pumping inland.

“Our basin’s a little more over-drafted than we would like it, and

we’re always fighting back ocean water from coming into the

groundwater basin,” said John Kennedy, assistant general manager at

the Orange County Water District. “Because of that situation, we

would like to reduce pumping along the coast to help the coastal

water levels rise.”

Saltwater intrusion is a perpetual threat in Huntington Beach and

other coastal cities, Kennedy said. The saltwater barrier, which

consists of 26 high-pressure injection wells along the coast in

Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, pushes saltwater back toward

the ocean and away from the city’s supply of fresh groundwater.

Plans are to install eight more injection wells that will allow

the water district to increase the amount of water that can be

injected from 5 million gallons a day to 40 million gallons a day.

In the interim, Orange County Water District officials are

shifting pumping farther inland to keep water levels high along the

coast.

Huntington Beach, along with Newport Beach and the Irvine Ranch

Water District, will pump less groundwater and rely more on imported

water. Inland cities such as Anaheim, Fullerton, Santa Ana, Buena

Park, Orange and Westminster will pump more water and rely less on

imported water.

“By reducing how much coastal agencies are pumping, groundwater

levels will come up along the coastline and will help head off ocean

water that’s always coming in,” Kennedy said.

No flights will be added at Long Beach in 2004

No new commercial flights will be added to the Long Beach Airport

flight schedule next year since the airport exceeded its noise cap

for 2003.

The number of daily commercial flights allowed will remain at 41.

“We’re over our noise budget and no more flights can be added for

the year 2004,” airport spokeswoman Sharon Diggs Jackson said.

All flights are forced to comply with a strict noise ordinance,

which was finalized in May 1995. The ordinance is based on a point

system in which varying noise levels are allowed at different hours.

Less noise is allowed at night, for example, than in the middle of

the day.

There are 18 noise monitors positioned around the perimeter of the

airport that are frequently checked to ensure that planes are

adhering to allowable noise levels. The noise level of every plane

that takes off from the airport is measured and presented in monthly,

quarterly and annual reports.

Airport officials boast a 99% identification rate of violators.

The Long Beach City Council filed and approved the airport’s

annual noise bucket analysis report at a meeting on Tuesday night.

Oak View celebrates broader range of services

The Oak View Family and Community Center will hold an open house

to raise awareness about its new programs and services.

More than 400 residents of Surf City’s Oak View area are expected

to attend the center’s Open House and Community Resource Fair.

Festivities will include games, resource booths and a raffle.

It is the first major event since the city handed control of the

community center to the Children’s Bureau, a nonprofit agency, on May

1. Now the community center and the Oak View Family Center have

combined to provide a wider range of programs for the Oak View

community.

The center provides a bevy of services for the community at large

including parenting classes, health services, literacy programs,

legal assistance and information on adoption and foster care. It also

offers recreational activities such as sewing, aerobics and arts and

crafts, and youth and teen support programs such as counseling,

college preparation and homework assistance.

Since the Oak View area is 99% Latino, most programs are

bilingual.

The celebration will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Oct 25. at the

center, which is at 17261 Oak Lane. For more information, call (714)

596-7062.

Merchants discuss Downtown business plans

Downtown merchants met last week to discuss forming a business

improvement district.

A business improvement district is a coalition of businesses that

take responsibility for raising funds for advertising, promotions,

special events and other activities within in a specific area -- in

this case, Downtown Huntington Beach.

All businesses participating in the district are responsible for

raising money for services such as publicity, better security,

centralized parking and a clean environment. Business improvement

districts allow businesses to pool their assets to fund common goals

such as creating directory maps for visitors and locals, collective

advertising and special events.

Most business representatives in attendance supported forming the

group. Discussions will continue at another meeting in November.

The city already has two business improvement districts; The

Huntington Beach Auto Dealers Business Improvement District was

formed in 1992 to give dealers the opportunity to implement programs

that serve the district. The Huntington Beach Hotel/Motel Business

Improvement District was formed last year at the request of the

Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau. Its purpose is to

fund activities that promote Huntington Beach as an overnight

destination.

Forming a district would require City Council approval.

Beachmont Plaza will

get a makeover

One of the city’s more rundown shopping centers will soon be

revitalized.

Beachmont Plaza, at the Northeast corner of Brookhurst Street and

Adams Avenue, was built in 1965. It has, at various times, housed a

Vons supermarket, a Wild West store, a Petland, a Clothworld and a

Sam Goody.

All of the stores were vacated years ago to make way for complete

renovation.

Last week, Albertsons Inc., which owns Sav-On Drugs, gave the

green light for a Sav-On Drug store to be built on the site. The new

store could be ready for business as soon as next summer.

-- Compiled by Jenny Marder