CONSENT AGENDA Davies Estate ready for close-up; residents shedding light on issue
By AMY KAUFMAN Special to the Daily Press
(Editor’s note: This story is part of an ongoing series that tracks the city’s expenditures appearing on upcoming Santa Monica City Council consent agendas. Such items are routinely passed by the City Council with little or no discussion from elected officials or the public.) CITY HALL — A pond of tainted runoff water that has been collecting beneath the Santa Monica Pier will likely receive some attention tonight, with City Council expected to approve a $20,000 analysis of the environmental hazard.
The additional expenditure is part of a larger research program aimed at cleaning the bacteria-ridden waters in and around the pier. City staff recently identified the ponding water was related to the pier’s storm drain, which officials believe is causing high levels of bacteria in the surf line.
Sand accumulation under the pier has put the storm drain at a lower elevation than the sand in some other parts of the beach, allowing ponding to occur in any runoff that flows down the storm drain during months with dry weather.
The problem was identified while the Santa Monica Urban Runoff Reclamation Facility (SMURRF) was working with an engineering consulting company, as well as a diversion pump system at the Pico Kenter storm drain, to locate issues that needed improvements, a city staff report said.
The high bacteria levels not only pose a potential public health hazard, but also put the city at risk from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, which could impose fines for non-compliance with new urban runoff regulations.
Currently, consulting company Psomas is assessing the problem. City Hall will be asked to approve the additional $20,000 allowing the expansion of the project (not to exceed $73,730 total), which includes a review of the configuration of the existing pier storm drain system, ponding issues and how to correct and eliminate the problem.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 14, 2006. Read the original PDF.