Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 30, 2009
4. Water Quality –
Congress considers legislation for quicker testing of water pollution;
A measure approved by the House would require the EPA to develop a system
that would allow the public to be made aware of contamination within hours of sampling.
California beaches face a rising tide of pollution, study finds;
Natural Resources Defense Council reports a 4% increase in violations of bacterial standards
at 227 beaches from 2007 to 2008.
By Amy Littlefield
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Congress considers legislation for quicker testing of water pollution;
A measure approved by the House would require the EPA to develop a system
that would allow the public to be made aware of contamination within hours of sampling.
By Richard Simon
Reporting from
A measure approved Wednesday on a voice vote by the House would require speedier testing for coastal pollution and fund projects to track down sources of contamination.
In
Rep. John Boozman of
Congressional action came as the Natural Resources Defense Council reported that beach closings and advisories last year declined 10%. But that, the group said, most likely was because of dry conditions and decreased funding for water monitoring.
Beach closings and advisories, often the result of aging sewage and storm water systems, still exceeded 20,000 incidents nationwide last year -- the fourth highest number since 1990, the group reported.
The Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act passed Wednesday by the House would require the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a test by 2012 that would allow the public to be alerted to contamination within hours of sampling, reducing the risk of exposure to disease-causing pathogens. A similar bill has cleared a Senate committee.
Currently, tests take 18 hours or longer to produce results.
"You get information on Friday that tells you whether the beach was clean on Thursday," said Nancy Stoner, co-director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's water program.
Once a faster test is developed, Gold said, "you grab a sample at 7 in the morning, and then you can post warning signs on the beach by 11 to let the public know whether or not it's safe to swim."
The House bill would authorize $40 million a year for the program through 2014. The Senate bill would authorize $60 million annually through 2013. Even if a final bill passes, the money would have to be appropriated by Congress.
Lawmakers already have moved on a separate front to increase funding for clean-water projects, including those designed to prevent beach pollution. A House-approved bill would provide $2.3 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which helps state and local agencies pay for projects such as upgrading aging sewage-treatment plants and preventing runoff of polluted water. A bill headed to the Senate would provide $2.1 billion. About $689 million was provided this year.
Lawmakers also are considering the Sewage Overflow Community Right-To-Know Act, which would require treatment plants to alert the public to sewer overflows.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-beach30-2009jul30,0,3973655.story
California beaches face a rising tide of pollution, study finds;
Natural Resources Defense Council reports a 4% increase in violations of bacterial standards
at 227 beaches from 2007 to 2008.
By Amy Littlefield
Ten percent of water samples at
Violations of daily maximum bacterial standards at 227
Many Californians were sickened or became ill after going to polluted beaches last year," Michelle Mehta, an attorney with the council's water program, said in a written statement. "The problem of beach water pollution has not improved and millions of people visiting
Although
In May, Heal the Bay also ranked Los Angeles beaches as worst in the state for water quality.
Bacteria can flow into beach water from sewage accidents such as the spill that forced closures in
"We've described it as a toxic soup," Mehta said in a telephone interview Tuesday.
Although researchers linked 9% of contamination to sewage and 3% to storm water, the vast majority (81%) came from unknown sources.
The gap in knowledge underscores a need for better research, Mehta said.
High bacteria levels caused more than 20,000 beach closures and advisories nationwide and more than 4,000 in
Scientists awarded five-star ratings to popular beaches that warned beachgoers and had relatively low levels of contamination. Among the highest-ranked beaches were certain locations at
The full report, Testing the Waters: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches, will be available online today.
"The positive to take away is that there's good beaches next to bad beaches, so people can make a decision about what beach they go to," Mehta said. #
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-beaches29-2009jul29,0,6684628.story?track=rss
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