Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
July 29, 2008
1. Top Items -
Sewage spills are a summer bummer for beachgoers: The
The
The
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Sewage spills are a summer bummer for beachgoers: The
The
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Tami Abdollah, Staff Writers
Donna Martin put on her bathing suit Monday morning and drove her 17-year-old daughter and a neighbor's 4-year-old over to Mother's Beach in
A red and yellow warning sign killed the mood: "Beach Closed. Sewage Contaminated Water. Ocean Water May Cause Illness."
Martin, 48, a
"It seems like it's a common occurrence that they close this beach," she said.
Officials say there have been more beach closures this year because of where the sewage spilled.
"We just had a couple that were closer to the beach," said Nelson Kerr, recreational water manager at the city's Department of Health and Human Services.
On Saturday, a 12,000-gallon sewage spill near
Beaches were not expected to reopen until this morning at the soonest.
Some of the water quality issues are homegrown. Cleaning crews responsible for maintaining the city's 760 miles of sewer lines traced Saturday's spill to an 8-inch pipe below a gated community that was clogged with cooking grease. A 300-gallon spill July 13 that closed several beaches was caused by vandals stuffing toilet paper down public toilets near Mother's Beach, city officials said.
Other water problems flow downstream from
The beach closures -- three in less than two months -- are particularly bitter for
"Despite Long Beach's best efforts to minimize poor local water quality, they will continue to be at the mercy of the entire L.A. and San Gabriel River watershed's runoff," said Mike Grimmer, who manages Heal the Bay's beach report card program.
In June, a 16,000-gallon sewage spill in
"
"Everything that's in them is emptied out into our harbor areas," he said.
While some of
Alsop said residents could help prevent future beach closures, and save on sewer fees, by throwing grease in the trash, as required by state and city law, instead of down the drain.
Added sewer line cleanings cost residents an extra $500,000 in sewer fees annually, Alsop said. City crews target problem areas near
"The incident on Saturday should be a reminder to all of us to pay attention to what we put down our kitchen sinks," Alsop said. "The health department has closed four beaches in the middle of the summer -- that should not be happening."
Martin grew up with a grease can in her kitchen.
"Oil and water don't mix," she said. "To me it's common sense. . . . Especially animal fat, bacon grease -- that stuff will stick to the inside of our pipes, coagulate."
Kelly Tom, 40, of
"It's our closest beach," he said. "We expected to get in the water."
Karen Koch arrived at the beach Monday about 1 p.m. with her two children and their friends, loaded down with bodyboards, lawn chairs, towels, beach bags and ice chests.
The beach seemed fairly empty, but they didn't mind at first.
"It's Monday; nobody goes to the beach," Koch said.
Then she stopped.
"What's that yellow sign?" she said as she and her 9-year-old son Ben went to investigate.
Ben was aghast.
"We can't swim?" he yelled.
Slowly, the group turned around, headed for the sewage-free shores of
The
By Susannah Rosenblatt, Times Staff Writer
For the fifth year in a row,
"The problem's not going away," said Michelle Mehta, an attorney with the nonprofit organization's water program.
Also among the top 10 foulest shores were
Coastlines in
Samples were taken from nearly three-quarters of
Bathers in tainted water can contract gastroenteritis, ear infections, skin rashes or other symptoms, Mehta said. Dirty water can flow into the sea from storm drains and sewage systems, especially in rainstorms.
In
While the declines sound encouraging, Mehta cautioned that conditions might actually be getting worse. Because the amount of rainfall last season was much less than the previous year, experts had expected beach conditions to improve more dramatically.
State water board officials, however, pointed to water quality improvements, particularly in dry weather when the beaches and surf are the most crowded. For instance, the state has spent more than $74 million on beach cleanup efforts, such as diverting urban runoff into treatment plants.
The biggest challenge is fighting diffuse pollution sources, such as people dumping contaminants down storm drains, said Leslie Laudon, a State Water Resources Control Board manager. Individuals can take steps to protect beach water by turning off sprinklers and picking up dog droppings.
Beach warning and closure days in
"There's been a huge effort by . . . the county and cities to try and divert or treat urban runoff," said Larry Honeybourne, an environmental health program manager with the Orange County Health Care Agency. "Things are slowly getting better -- we still have challenges out there."
Honeybourne cited a wastewater treatment plant at Salt Creek in
Authors of the report called for quicker water test results. It can take as long as 48 hours after collecting water samples before swimmers and surfers are notified that beaches could be unsafe. The state water board has spent about $3 million to study methods to more quickly test fouled water in Avalon and at
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-beach29-2008jul29,0,3405704.story?track=rss
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