Beached wails: Voters heralded for support
WILL ROGERS BEACH — The beaches in Santa Monica Bay will be cleaner this summer than they’ve been in more than a decade, a prominent local environmentalist predicted Friday.
The sunny forecast is due in part to $4.1 million worth of grants recently awarded to area agencies to help treat urban runoff that winds up in the ocean, runoff from as far away as the San Fernando Valley.
Leading politicians, environmental activists, and members of state and local water boards gathered at Will Rogers State Beach on Friday to hand over checks to the City and County of Los Angeles, as well as the Southern California Coastal Waters Research Project (SCCWRP), a public research agency.
“The voters understand that this is our infrastructure — just as much as that highway, or our public schools, or police,” said Santa Monica resident Terry Tamminen, appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to head the California Environmental Protection Agency. “We must take care of this infrastructure.
“We’ve come a long way, but this tells us we still have a long way to go,” Tamminen added. “The (Santa Monica) Bay and these beaches are the most valuable thing we’ll ever own.”
Santa Monica Bay attracts about 50 million visitors each year and the coastal economy statewide is responsible for 700,000 jobs and $55 billion in revenue, said Cynthia Ruiz, commissioner of the LA board of public works. Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay, a local environmental group, said he expects local beaches to be cleaner this summer than they’ve been in 13 years — when water quality first was graded.
“These are the kinds of projects that we need to see,” Gold said, adding that dirty water leads to respiratory infections and stomach flu. “And these are the projects the public needs to learn about.”
The LA County Flood Control District received a $1.1 million grant to be used for the construction of a low-flow diversion project, which will prevent contaminated runoff from reaching Dockweiler and Will Rogers State Beaches by redirecting the dirty water to the City of LA’s sanitary sewer.
SCCWRP — pronounced “skwerp” — received $250,000 to conduct an in-depth evaluation of beach clean-up projects and to develop strategies for improving bacterial water quality in enclosed bays.
The City of Los Angeles was awarded a $1.05 million grant for replacement of defective drainage and sewer pipes and to repair structures that keep away birds at Cabrillo Beach.
Finally, the County of LA’s Department of Beaches and Harbors received a $1.75 million grant for the second phase of an improvement project underway at Marina Beach. The grant will be used to specifically address chronic bacterial contamination there.
All of the grants were awarded by California water boards. Beth Jines, director of the State Water Resources Control Board, a branch of the EPA, said a total of $95.6 million in bond money is available to clean up beaches through voter-approved Propositions 13, 40 and 50.
Many of the speakers at Friday’s event praised the voters for their commitment to the beaches. LA City Councilman Jack Weiss said that commitment benefits everyone.
“Right now, the beach behind us is virtually deserted,” he said. “But in a few months, it’s going to be packed.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 8, 2004. Read the original PDF.