The ocean is our business

Last weekend was a painful ? although thankfully not harmful ? reminder of just how quickly our beautiful beaches can be filled with yellow warnings signs that read: “Keep out.”

For two days, the water from Beach Boulevard to the Newport Pier was closed while the Orange County Sanitation District repaired an offshore sewage pipe. The work meant that sewage had to be diverted to a pipe that is much closer to shore, and when the work took longer than expected, the Orange County Health Care Agency closed the water as a precautionary move.

It was fortunate in this case that there was not a serious health hazard, but the timing just a month before Memorial Day inevitably raises memories of the summer of 1999 when four miles of Huntington’s beaches were closed. No one, of course, wants a repeat of that summer ? or of anything even close. And in this case, the work being done should help keep our beaches and water clean, much as work in the past seven years has done.

But there still is that twinge of anxiety at seeing those yellow signs, whether for two days or two weeks or two months. And it is not just surfers or swimmers who ought to be concerned when the signs appear. Huntington’s summer-long beach closure in 1999 hurt businesses that rely on tourists and beachgoers to drive their cash registers. Even brief closures can hurt business. Beach closures are bad news for everyone.

And so last weekend’s harmless closure ought to act as a reminder that keeping the shores clean is not just an environmentalist’s job. It is not something that we all can expect someone else to handle. Little acts can mean much. Don’t toss something down a storm drain. Clean up after your pets.

Essentially, the message comes down to: Don’t be complacent about our ocean. The consequences to our health, our businesses and our enjoyment of where we live demand it.