Runoff study to find what sullies the gully

Andrew Edwards

Just where does Buck Gully’s runoff come from?

The Newport Beach City Council is scheduled to consider a contract

tonight, which would put the city in business with an environmental

company, to investigate the source of runoff that has plagued Little

Corona Beach.

If the deal is approved, the city would pay slightly less than

$90,000 to Todd Engineers, an Emeryville company that specializes in

groundwater analysis.

The study would focus on water that ends up in Buck Gully as well

as nearby Morning Canyon and in three creeks near Pelican Point.

Results could be available by October, said Robert Stein of the

city’s Public Works Department.

The likely source of Buck Gully’s flows is homeowners who water

their yards too much, public works director Stephen Badum said.

However, the exact source of the water has not been pinpointed. The

water is believed to soak below the surface and take an underground

route to Buck Gully.

“Obviously, it’s water that soaks into the ground and migrates up

into the canyon and percolates up into a stream,” Badum said. “It’s

pretty much flowing pretty steadily.”

Flows at Buck Gully have previously been estimated to be as high

as 350 gallons per minute, even in dry weather. Stein said in

addition to finding the source of the water, the study would attempt

to quantify the amount of runoff.

The greatest problem posed by the runoff is the pesticides and

other pollutants the water carries into the tide pools at Little

Corona Beach, Stein said.

“We need to reduce the amount of dry-weather runoff -- it’s going

into the marine life areas,” he said.

Another potential problem at Buck Gully stems from plants watered

by the runoff, Badum said. The water spurs the growth of reeds and

shrubs, which can clog the runoff stream and send water spilling off

the bluffs above Little Corona, creating a potential erosion hazard.

“Anytime you erode the sides of the canyon long enough, you’re

going to get some landslides,” Badum said.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards

@latimes.com.