There’s no place to go

Jenny Marder

When you gotta go, you gotta go. And when there’s nowhere appropriate

to go, the great outdoors is often the only option.

Such is the dread of local activists, who fear that the Bolsa

Chica Wetlands will become a human wasteland now that the state can

no longer afford to maintain the portable restrooms there.

State budget cuts have penetrated all corners of Huntington Beach,

hitting the one place many felt was sacred -- public bathrooms.

Three portable bathrooms were removed early this month after the

Department of Fish and Game announced that it no longer had money to

pay for trash disposal or toilet service.

Rainbow Disposal, the city’s refuse company, has offered to

provide free trash service, but the toilet service costs $3,750 per

year to maintain. The portable bathrooms were at the Bolsa Chica

Conservancy and at the footbridge parking lot entrance to the

wetlands, off Pacific Coast Highway. The Bolsa Chica Conservancy

scraped together funds to bring back one temporary stalls, but that

money will run out in two weeks.

“I just feel that we should be able to provide the basic service

of a bathroom to anybody and everybody who uses the wetlands,” said

Alexia Swanepoel, coordinator of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica.

But if hopes of another source of funding are flushed away, local

activists don’t know what they’ll do.

“Not having a facility for these visitors is just not acceptable,”

said Grace Adams, executive director of the Bolsa Chica Conservancy.

“We’re trying to preserve an ecosystem here and trying to increase

public awareness on the importance of the wetlands. This is an open

space that is owned and managed by the state of California and it’s

just unwarranted that they would allow this to happen.”

Thousands come through the two entrances every year.

“Imagine arriving at the scene with three busloads of students,

saying ‘Teacher, teacher, I gotta go,’” Assemblyman Tom Harman said.

“What are you going to tell them.”

The environmental group has appealed to Harman for help, but he is

doubtful that more funding will be found at the state level.

“To be honest, I’m not optimistic that the state will be able to

do anything because of the budget crisis,” Harman said.

The local groups may have to mount some serious fundraising

efforts to pay for the three bathrooms.

“This is a precursor of some of the things that may be coming down

the road with tremendous budget cuts from the state at every

department, whether it’s health care or education or, in this case,

services,” Harman said. “They’re all going to see some dramatic

reductions in spending to try to balance our budget.”