WATER QUALITY, from page 1 Fecal water forays unwise
By Daily Press staff
SM BEACH — Despite a lack of enforceable water quality standards, an undeterred environmental group has released a list of beaches that violate federal standards and potentially pose a health risk to beachgoers.
The beach at the Santa Monica Pier was one of six found this week by Heal the Bay to be in violation of the Clean Water Act, even though the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) postponed taking action to make the contaminated water levels an offense subject to fines for their respective cities.
The new stricter guidelines for surface water pollutants, which would require local cities and Los Angeles County to comply with the water standards every day throughout the summer, would have gone into effect on July 15 had the RWQCB not postponed their vote on the action just two days prior. The issue is now scheduled for a vote at the board’s Sept. 14 meeting.
“Heal the Bay is pleasantly surprised at the small number of beaches in violation of the Clean Water Act,” says Mark Gold, executive director of the Santa Monica-based nonprofit. “However, we urge responsible coastal cities and LA County to protect public health by immediately posting warning signs at the beaches, to come forward with plans to clean up these beaches and do everything possible to comply with the law as soon as possible.”
Beach water at 65 locations within the county is monitored by the LA County Department of Health Services Environmental Monitoring Division and the LA County Sanitation District. The following beaches were found to be in violation: ■ On July 15: Santa Monica Pier, Dockweiler Beach at Ballona Creek, Marie Canyon at Puerco Beach in A UCLA study released earlier this week showed that the health care costs of beachgoers falling ill as a result of contaminated beach water ranges from $21 million to $414 million annually. It is estimated that up to 1.5 million swimmers and surfers get gastrointestinal illnesses (stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting) from bacterial pollution at beaches on 100 miles of shoreline in LA and Orange counties.
The new dry-weather water standards, called TMDLs (Total Maximum Daily Loads), require beach waters and discharges from storm drains to be free from unhealthy levels of fecal bacteria. They would apply to all Santa Monica Bay beaches from the Ventura County line south to Palos Verdes between April and October — when tens of millions of residents and visitors use the beach.
In 2003, Heal the Bay, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Santa Monica Baykeeper went to court and won strong bacteria pollution limits for water at local beaches. However, in order to be enforceable, the bacteria pollution limits need to be incorporated into the county’s storm water permit by the RWQCB.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 22, 2006. Read the original PDF.