Newport seeking to buck an ocean-pollution trend

Alicia Robinson

Time is ticking away for the city to decide how to stop water from

getting into protected areas of the ocean on Newport’s coastline via

Buck Gully.

Newport Beach faces a Jan. 1 deadline to either tell the State

Water Resources Control Board its plans for stopping discharges into

a state-designated area of special biological significance or ask for

an exception to the zero-discharge rule.

Even in dry weather, up to 350 gallons of water per minute flow

down Buck Gully and into the ocean at peak times. Discharges are

likely coming from runoff, which stems from residents over-watering

their plants and groundwater seepage, Newport Beach Assistant City

Manager Dave Kiff said.

The city is developing a plan to reduce urban runoff with the help

of a $1.1-million grant from the state water board, but thus far no

action has been taken, he said.

“We basically have done a lot of talking, but we haven’t put

anything on the ground yet,” Kiff said.

The talk will get more serious Thursday, when the city’s

Coastal/Bay Citizens Water Quality Advisory Committee meets to

discuss how to address the state deadline. Options to reduce runoff

could include restricting irrigation and ticketing violators or

building a structure at the bottom of the gully to divert water flows

into the sanitary sewer system, a potentially costly method.

The city has tried some test diversion programs before, and while

diversion is easy to do in Buck Gully, it isn’t a long-term solution,

said water quality committee member Dennis Baker.

The Orange County Sanitary District now accepts the diverted water

for free, but that may not last, he said.

“It’s kind of like there’s no real free lunch,” Baker said.

“Somebody’s got to pay for it.”

The best solution will likely be a combination of methods, such as

encouraging the use of native plants that don’t require much water

and adding satellite-controlled irrigation systems, he said. Both of

those solutions were put forth in October as a way to reduce the risk

of fire in Buck Gully and Morning Canyon, but some residents worried

about how any new planting and irrigation regulations would affect

their properties.

The committee could come up with a recommendation for the City

Council Thursday. The council must take action by Dec. 14, its final

meeting before the Jan. 1 deadline.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.