Heal the Bay and Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation have been collaborating to reduce impacts to the Santa Clara River Estuary from the Ventura Water Reclamation Facility since 2011, following a legal settlement (consent decree) with the City of Ventura. After more than a decade of scientific studies, bureaucratic negotiations, infrastructure planning, and a lengthy permitting process, we are excited that the VenturaWaterPure project is moving forward. The project will provide a net benefit to the estuary by reducing discharge of treated wastewater from the facility, which has a multitude of negative impacts on water and habitat quality in the estuary.
The Santa Clara River Estuary outlet to the ocean
The Ventura Water Reclamation facility
On December 15, 2024, Heal the Bay joined our consent decree partners along with Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Michael Brain, to celebrate this water recycling and ecosystem restoration project.
Heal the Bay’s Associate Director, Science & Policy (Water Quality) Annelisa Moe (left) attends the VenturaWaterPure press conference.
Under CA State law, discharging treated wastewater is considered an unreasonable use of that water, and is therefore illegal, unless it provides an environmental benefit. Unfortunately, based on conclusions from a Science Panel and Technical Advisory Committee, treated wastewater flow into the naturally brackish Santa Clara River Estuary does not benefit the ecosystem, but actually negatively affects it in a variety of ways:
Decreases salinity variability, which is favorable for invasive species
Increases levels of nitrate and other nutrients leading to low dissolved oxygen levels, which is harmful to the entire ecosystem
Heightens the water level in the estuary leading to local flooding at McGrath State Park and unseasonal estuary berm breach events, which impedes public access and is harmful to native and listed species
So the City of Ventura has committed to dramatically reduce their discharge to the estuary and limit nutrient loading in any remaining discharge through the VenturaWaterPure project. The project also offers a co-benefit of up to 1.76 billion gallons of new recycled water supply for the City of Ventura by 2032. This supports the human right to water using an approach that is environmentally protective and affordable, especially when compared to other methods such as importing water, or using ocean water desalination.
Heal the Bay will continue to work closely with Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation and City of Ventura to ensure the transition to reduced discharge is protective of the estuary, that the new brine discharge to the ocean is done responsibly using the best available technology, and that the existing treatment ponds (which currently serve as important bird habitat) remain protected as part of the final VenturaWaterPure project.
Support Heal the Bay’s mission to protect public health through clean water policy:
Join community scientists in California to observe and document the King Tides on February 9, 2024. This extreme high tide event provides a glimpse of what we face with climate-driven sea level rise. Your images will contribute to a better understanding of how to adapt to and combat the climate crisis.Get a glimpse of last winter’s King Tide.
UPDATED FEBRUARY 1, 2024
Capture the King Tide this February!
King Tides are a wave phenomenon that can only be witnessed a few times a year when the high tide is at its highest and the low tide is at its lowest. These extreme tides only come to shore when the moon is closest to the Earth and when the Earth is closest to the Sun. King Tides can teach California so much about the changing coastline, if their impact can be captured.
This February, Heal the Bay is calling on all local beach lovers to hit the sand and help us document these extreme tides. Taking pictures and recording this natural phenomenon can help climate scientists predict the future of California’s coastline in preparation of impending sea level rise, which is the first step toward adapting for and combating the climate crisis. Last year your observations were vital to prepare Los Angeles for a future affected by climate change and we need your help once again.
Don’t want to face the big wave alone? Come capture the King Tide with other climate community members during the February phenomenon.
FREE King Tides EVENT @ Heal the Bay Aquarium with Climate Action Santa Monica
Date: February 9, 2024
Time: 7:30 am -9:30 am
Address: Heal the Bay Aquarium 1600 Ocean Front Walk Santa Monica, CA 90401 – Base of Santa Monica Beach Pier (by the bike path)
Head to Heal the Bay Aquarium for a King Tide community science event lead by Climate Action Santa Monica. Hit the beach and help document the King Tide by capturing pictures of this ocean phenomenon alongside community and climate scientists as part of the California King Tides Project. This phenomenon will be FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMLIY! Join in the community discussion and discover the relationship between sea level rise and climate change alongside students and other climate community members.
Instructions from the CA Coastal Commission: 1) Find your local high tide time for one of the King Tides dates. 2) Visit the shoreline on the coast, bay, or delta. 3) Be aware of your surroundings to ensure you are safe and are not disturbing any animals. 4) Make sure your phone’s location services are turned on for your camera and then take your photo. The best photos show the water level next to familiar landmarks such as cliffs, rocks, roads, buildings, bridge supports, sea walls, staircases, and piers. 5) Add your photo to the King Tides map either by uploading it via the website or by using the Survey123 app.
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 13, 2022
Sea Level Rise
Before we get into the details of this year’s King Tides event, let’s begin with the larger context of sea level rise. Humans are polluting Earth’s atmosphere with greenhouse gases (GHGs) like CO2, primarily through the burning of fossil fuels, driving average global temperatures up at an unprecedented rate.
Oceans have helped to buffer this steady pollution stream by absorbing 90% of our excess heat and 25% of our CO2 emissions. This, among myriad impacts, has increased sea temperatures, causing ocean water to expand. The combination of ocean water expansion and new water input from the melting of landlocked glaciers results in rapid sea level rise.
Santa Monica Beach Current
Santa Monica Beach Sea Level Rise 2ft
Santa Monica Beach Sea Level Rise 7 Ft
Ports Current Sea Level
Ports Sea Level Rise 7ft
Marina Del Rey Current Sea Level
Marina Del Rey Sea Level Rise 7ft
Take a look at images from the NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer. Light blue shows areas expected to flood consistently as sea levels rise. Bright green shows low-lying areas vulnerable to flooding from groundwater upwelling as seawater intrusion increases.
According to the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report, sea level will rise 2 feet by 2100 even if efforts are made to lower GHG emissions, and possibly as much as 7 feet by 2100 if we continue with “business as usual” (i.e., burning fossil fuels at the current unsustainable rate). Rapid sea level rise threatens beach loss, coastal and intertidal habitat loss, seawater intrusion into our groundwater supply (which could contaminate our drinking water supply and cause inland flooding from groundwater upwelling), as well as impacts from flooding or cliff erosion on coastal infrastructures like roads, homes, businesses, power plants and sewage treatment plants—not to mention nearby toxic sites.
Here's a sea level rise problem we should all think more about: Toxic sites that could flood + expose nearby residents to dangerous chemicals.
Ocean tides on Earth are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon (and the sun, to a lesser extent) on our oceans. When the moon is closest to Earth along its elliptical orbit, and when the moon, earth, and sun are aligned, gravitational pull compounds, causing extreme high and low tides called Perigean-Spring Tides or King Tides. These extreme tides provide a glimpse of future sea level rise.
In fact, King Tides in Southern California this December and January are expected to be 2-3 feet higher than normal high tides (and lower than normal low tides), providing a clear snapshot of what the regular daily high tides will likely be by 2100.
Surfider Beach Third Point, Malibu (Photo by CA Coastal Commission)
Broad Beach, Malibu in 2016 (Photo by LA Waterkeeper)
(Top to bottom) Low, Medium, High Tides at Carbon Beach, January 8-10 2013
What is being done
Many coastal cities in California have developed Local Coastal Programs in coordination with the CA Coastal Commission to address sea level rise. The Coastal Commission is also developing new sea level rise guidance for critical infrastructure, recently released for public review. Unfortunately, if we continue with “business as usual,” the rate of sea level rise will occur much more quickly than we can adapt to it, which is why we need bold global action now to combat the climate crisis and limit sea level rise as much as possible.
What you can do
Motivated people like you can become community scientists by submitting King Tides photographs the weekend of December 23 and 24, 2022 to contribute to the digital storytelling of sea level rise. These photos are used to better understand the climate crisis, to educate people about the impacts, to catalog at-risk communities and infrastructure, and plan for mitigation and adaptation. Join the Coastal Commission in their CA King Tides Project!
Get involved in #KingTides events
Instructions from the CA Coastal Commission: 1) Find your local high tide time for one of the King Tides dates. 2) Visit the shoreline on the coast, bay, or delta. 3) Be aware of your surroundings to ensure you are safe and are not disturbing any animals. 4) Make sure your phone’s location services are turned on for your camera and then take your photo. The best photos show the water level next to familiar landmarks such as cliffs, rocks, roads, buildings, bridge supports, sea walls, staircases, and piers. 5) Add your photo to the King Tides map either by uploading it via the website or by using the Survey123 app.
In the Los Angeles area? Here are some areas we expect will have noticeable King Tides:
In Palos Verdes, we recommend: Pelican Cove, Terrenea Beach, White Point Beach, and Point Fermin. In Malibu, we suggest: Paradise Cove, Westward Beach, Broad Beach, El Pescador State Beach, and Leo Carrillo State Beach.
Written by Annelisa Moe. As a Coastal and Marine Scientist for Heal the Bay, Annelisa works to keep our oceans and marine ecosystems healthy and clean by advocating for strong legislation and enforcement both locally and statewide. She focuses on plastic pollution, marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries, and climate change related issues.
The LA Regional Water Board approved an agreement for one of the nation’s most polluted sites. Concerns about transparency, accountability, and loopholes in this agreement leave the public vulnerable to continued contamination from the Santa Susana Field Lab.
LATEST UPDATE OCTOBER 19, 2023
We called for accountability. The Regional Board listened.
In August 2022, The Los Angeles Regional Water Board approved an agreement with Boeing to eventually consider removal of water quality regulations at their highly contaminated Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL) site, formerly known as Rocketdyne, located in the hills above Simi Valley. This would only happen after soil cleanup has been completed, and after they have proven that surface water runoff from the site is clean. That proof of whether runoff is clean, however, depends on how well it is regulated – we don’t know what we don’t check for. The Los Angeles Regional Water Board voted today on updated regulation of runoff from SSFL, keeping the most stringent water quality limits, adding even more monitoring, and addressing the potential for surface water pollution to contaminate local groundwater through stormwater holding ponds. In this action, the Board has ensured that, if and when they consider removing regulation at this site at some future time, we can be sure that it would not happen at the expense of public and environmental health. There will also be publicly accessible quarterly reports on Boeing’s soil cleanup efforts at the site moving forward, which will help to keep Boeing accountable. Thank you to the Regional Board for using your authority to ensure protections for these lands and water resources!
UPDATE AUGUST 11, 2022
THE REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD VOTED ON AUGUST 11 to approve an agreement concerning Boeing’s highly contaminated Santa Susana Field Lab, formerly known as Rocketdyne, located in the hills above Simi Valley. The agreement sets up a process by which Boeing will eventually be able to remove its water quality regulations after cleanup has been completed, and after they have proven that runoff from the site is clean. Heal the Bay attended the 10-hour-long August 11 hearing and, while we fully support cleanup, we voiced our concerns that this agreement would not adequately protect water quality or public health and asked for a postponement to make improvements to the plan. We also raised concerns with the process — the agreement was made behind closed doors, the public was not able to submit written comments, and the only opportunity to speak was at the hearing. Due to an overwhelming turnout from members of the public, input at the hearing had to be further reduced from the typical 3 minutes to 1 minute and cut off completely at 5pm.
Both Boeing and the Regional Board claimed that this agreement was necessary for Boeing to commit to the required cleanup work, and that a delay in approval of the agreement would only delay the cleanup efforts. Stakeholders were put in an unfair position, threatened with delayed cleanup if we did not support an agreement that we had remaining concerns about. However, the blame for delays should not be placed on stakeholders and community members; these concerns and objections are not what is slowing down the process — Boeing has yet to even start a cleanup that was supposed to be completed back in 2017. As community member Marie Mason mentioned to me at the hearing, “If Boeing wanted to do the right thing, they would have done it 20 years ago,” and could have avoided the impacts of pollution and contamination exposure during that time. Further, the cleanup plan itself also raised concerns (see more on this in the next section) and while the decision before the Board was not specifically on the cleanup plan, the cleanup and the agreement are inextricably linked, and approval of the agreement meant a de facto approval of the cleanup plan.
Despite the overwhelming call for either a no vote or a delay, the Board unanimously approved the agreement, with minor edits. Heal the Bay will remain engaged on this issue because the bottom line is that cleanup to a level that is fully protective of human and ecological health needs to happen as soon as possible.
The history of contamination at the Santa Susana Field Lab
Boeing, NASA, and the Department of Energy own the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL) site, where industrial activities were conducted from 1949 to 2006 to test rocket engines and nuclear reactors. This site contains high levels of contamination from these past activities, which have negatively affected the ecosystem, the groundwater, and the surface water that runs off the site, as well as the communities that rely on those water resources. Additionally, SSFL is located on top of a hill, which means that runoff from the site flows downhill into the community to the north in Simi Valley, feeds into the headwaters of the Arroyo Simi waterway, and feeds into theheadwaters of the Los Angeles River. Contamination from this site affects the entire LA Region, but the impacts are felt most severely in local communities.
In 2007, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) set requirements to fully clean up the contaminated soils at SSFL by 2017. But after decades of litigation and delays (led by Boeing), we are now five years after that deadline, and the cleanup has barely even begun. The longer we wait for Boeing to clean up their mess, the longer our ecosystems and communities are exposed to the contamination. In fact, the 2018 Woolsey fire remobilized existing contamination, leading to 57 distinct surface water violations in a single wet season. Had the cleanup been completed by 2017, as originally required, these violations would not have occurred. To add insult to injury, nearly all of Boeing’s fines associated with those violations were waived. Members of the community are the ones paying the price. According to a study by epidemiologist Hal Morgenstern of the University of Michigan, “the incidence rate [of cancer] was more than 60% greater among residents living within 2 miles of SSFL than among residents living more than 5 miles from SSFL.”
To avoid additional delays, CalEPA announced in May 2022 that a new cleanup settlement had been negotiated over the past several years between DTSC and Boeing, with an agreement that Boeing would not sue over this one. However, with no opportunity for public engagement, or even public comment, stakeholders have been left with so much uncertainty surrounding the new cleanup requirements. Community groups, non-governmental organizations, and even municipal legal consultants have reviewed the final cleanup agreement. These expert reviews have revealed a number of contamination limits altered in the latest version, and there is uncertainty on whether these changes are based on the best available science.
The agreement between Boeing and the Regional Board
The LA Regional Water Quality Control Board, which regulates only the surface water runoff at this site, drafted an agreement (also known as a Memorandum of Understanding or MOU) with Boeing to outline how Boeing can eventually remove its water quality regulations. The MOU requires Boeing to complete the soil cleanup as required by DTSC, and conduct modeling and monitoring to prove that surface water runoff is clean. The Regional Board believes that this MOU provides an extra safety measure, setting additional milestones to protect surface water quality, even if the cleanup agreement is flawed.
Although we agree with this in theory, the MOU can only offer this type of reinforcement for surface water quality protection if significant changes were made to the agreement language. Unfortunately, the Regional Board offered no opportunity for written comment on the MOU. Luckily, Heal the Bay was able to attend the hearing in person and provide our full statement in writing to the Board members, even if our verbal comments were cut short.
To address remaining concerns about the agreement, we asked the Regional Board to commit to providing a period for written public comments on the monitoring program to show whether surface water runoff is clean.
We recommended that the MOU must ensure regulation of past industrial activity, not just of future construction activity.
While the MOU had the potential to provide assurances for protection of surface water, the potential was not there for groundwater. We urged the Regional Board to reclaim regulatory authority of groundwater to ensure that the long-term quality of both surface water and groundwater at this site were sufficiently protective of human and ecological health.
If buried contaminated soil is left behind under the DTSC cleanup requirements, an earthquake or another fire followed by flooding could re-mobilize buried contamination. We demanded that the MOU include a statement to ensure that the responsible parties would have to address any and all remaining contaminated soil so long as they pose a risk to human or ecological health.
“This MOU is an opportunity to provide a backstop to protect surface water quality even if there are flaws in the cleanup agreement. However, the MOU can only offer this type of reinforcement if some changes are made… To ensure that our concerns are addressed, we request that the Regional Board commit now, within the language of the MOU, to providing a period for written public comments on the monitoring program.” – Elana Nager, Heal the Bay
Heal the Bay Policy Intern, Elana Nager, provides public testimony at the August 11, 2022 Hearing of the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board concerning the Santa Susana Field Lab Memorandum of Understanding.
In response to Heal the Bay’s comments, the Regional Board did commit to our recommendation #1, to provide a period for written public comments on the monitoring program — a program that will determine whether the cleanup was successful. We have remaining concerns about how rigorous that monitoring program will be, but by securing a public review we will at least get the chance to address those concerns later on.
Additionally, in response to pressure from Heal the Bay and a community-based coalition (including Parents against Santa Susana Field Lab, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Committee to Bridge the Gap, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility), the Regional Board took our recommendation #2 and removed one small word – “or” – from the agreement. This small change will require permit coverage for stormwater discharges associated with past industrial activity, and permit coverage for stormwater discharges associated with construction, as needed for any future cleanup activity. Originally, permit coverage could have only addressed construction activity, which would have been insufficient.
“We request that the ‘or’ in this statement be removed… Coverage must be specifically related to past industrial activity. One word makes a world of a difference.”
– Prince Takano, Heal the Bay
Heal the Bay Policy Intern, Prince Takano, provides public testimony at the August 11, 2022 Hearing of the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board concerning the Santa Susana Field Lab Memorandum of Understanding.
Although Board Member Christiansen attempted to include provisions for all of Heal the Bay’s recommendations, our two biggest concerns about re-mobilization of contaminated soil and pollution of groundwater were ultimately left unaddressed. In fact, when the Regional Board asked DTSC to address these concerns, DTSC Director Williams responded simply that groundwater will be monitored, and that the geology at this site is complicated. There was no additional discussion.
Even with the severely limited public process, significant remaining concerns, and the hundreds of voices asking for a either a no vote or a delay (including surprising testimony from former Regional Board Chair Lawrence Yee, who attended as a member of the public to ask the Board to reject the agreement), the Regional Board unanimously approved the MOU, with minor edits.
Where do we go from here?
The few small changes to the MOU do ensure a better public process moving forward, but do not ensure that this MOU will protect surface water quality or public health. However, we might have another chance to hold Boeing accountable for contaminated surface water runoff through their current water quality regulations (or discharge permit), which is up for renewal right now and will be upheld until cleanup is complete and they have proven that surface runoff is clean. There will be another Regional Board meeting later this year to discuss that permit. Heal the Bay will be there advocating for a strong permit that is protective of water quality not only in runoff from the site, but also runoff on the site, which can infiltrate into the ground and further contaminate the soils and groundwater. Stay tuned for more information about that meeting, and how you can join Heal the Bay to hold Boeing accountable.
EDITOR NOTE: Since the publishing of this blog post, the Regional Board has reached out to Heal the Bay to clarify that the reduced speaking time offered during the hearing was a direct result of the unusually large turnout from members of the public. The article has been updated to acknowledge these conditions.
Written by Annelisa Moe. As a Heal the Bay Water Quality Scientist, Annelisa helps to keep L.A. water clean and safe by advocating for comprehensive and science-based water quality regulation and enforcement. Before joining the team at Heal the Bay, she worked with the Regional Water Quality Control Board in both the underground storage tank program and the surface water ambient monitoring program.
In Part 1 of our 3-part series, Commit to Conservation, Heal the Bay Water Quality Scientist Annelisa explains how smart water practices like recycling and conservation can help ensure the human right to water and the rights of nature, even as California becomes more arid.
MANY FOLKS LIVING IN CALIFORNIA are all too familiar with drought, because it seems like we are always in one. I was born and raised in California, so drought conditions have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I learned to turn off the faucet while I brushed my teeth, to limit my showers to 5 minutes or less, and to never let a drop of water go to waste. Many California residents have gotten really good at conserving water when drought is in the news, but we are not as familiar with the why behind it all, so those good water practices often fall away as soon as we get some rain. Unfortunately, one good rainstorm — or even a few — is not enough to end a drought, nor is it enough to prepare for the next one. Drought cycles have always occurred in California, and they continue to worsen as the climate crisis persists, due in part to a process called aridification that is making our dry years even drier. What we consider “normal” is constantly shifting, and then we still get periods of drought on top of that. In this blog, we will start to explore the why behind all of our conservation efforts, and what that means for Los Angeles’ water future.
A map of drought conditions in California, as of October 18, 2022. This map shows exceptional drought conditions (the highest level of drought severity) in the Central Valley. All of California is experiencing some level of drought conditions, and the majority of California is experiencing severe, extreme, or exceptional drought conditions. Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Water Management in Los Angeles
Where does LA Water come from? Source: Know the Flow / Heal the Bay
Roughly 80% of LA’s water is imported from hundreds of miles away in the Northern Sierra Nevada mountain range and San Francisco Bay Delta via the CA Aqueduct, the Eastern Sierra and Owens Valley via the LA Aqueduct, and the Rocky Mountains via the Colorado River Aqueduct. Most of this imported water starts as snowpack in the mountains. In fact, California’s water system was designed so that the snowpack would be our biggest reservoir, with the Sierra Nevada (which translates to snow-covered mountains in Spanish) alone holding 30% of California’s water. The snow would build up in the winter, and then slowly melt over the spring to fill reservoirs, recharge groundwater aquifers, and flow through our aqueducts so that we have water supply when we need it most in the summer and fall, at which time the cycle would start all over again.
While we continue to take water from critical ecosystems like the Bay Delta, Owens Valley, and Colorado River Delta, which also need that snowmelt, we flush away the water that is available to us locally. Even in dry weather, 10 million gallons of water flow through Los Angeles’ stormdrain system and out to the ocean every single day just from nuisance flow (e.g., broken sprinklers, washing cars, hosing down driveways). And then, when we do get rain, that flow number surges with stormwater runoff, averaging 100 billion gallons of water wasted each year, when it could instead be captured and put to beneficial use. In addition, hundreds of millions of gallons of treated water is discharged from our wastewater treatment plants each day. Some of this treated water flows to the ocean through rivers and streams, and at least some of this flow may be needed to provide critical habitat for ecosystem health. But the treated water that is discharged directly to the ocean provides no beneficial purpose.
To learn more about the LA Aqueduct and its effects on local peoples and ecosystems, watch The Aqueduct Between Us, directed by AnMarie Mendoza from the Gabrieleno-Tongva Tribe.
Water Resources in Los Angeles Change with the Climate
Climate change is happening now. We are seeing and feeling the effects every day with relentless record-breaking heat waves, floods, fire seasons, and droughts. We already experience what is called weather whiplash: dramatic swings between extreme weather patterns. Climate change continues to intensify these swings, so our dry years are hotter and drier, and our wet years are even more intense. More frequent dry years and hotter temperatures drive demand for water up (it takes more water to irrigate crops and landscapes), depleting water supply. Evaporation also takes its toll by pulling water from reservoirs and even taking moisture up from the land, which weakens ecosystem health and actually makes it harder for the land to absorb water when it does rain. Add longer and more intense droughts into that mix, and it is clear that California is becoming more dry (or arid) over time. This process is called aridification, and the trend will only increase as human-accelerated climate change continues.
Low flow in the Colorado River, Source: Vicki Devine / Center for Biological Diversity
Critically low snowpack in California. Source: Stephanie Elam / CNN
Despite this dire news, it does still rain in Los Angeles. Looking ahead, we actually expect to get thesame volume of rain locally on average as we have in recent history, but it will fall less often through heavier downpours. In addition, our dwindling snowpack reservoirs are melting faster each year. We do not currently have the infrastructure in place to capture that higher level of runoff from intense storms and fast snowmelt. This all means that more water will flow back to the ocean rather than being stored as snowpack, or infiltrated into groundwater reservoirs. Some people have suggested that more surface reservoirs are the answer, but they are excessively expensive. Much of the stored water would be lost to evaporation, and quite frankly, we have already dammed most of the rivers in CA. So we must rethink how we manage water to make the most of the resources we do have left.
Water Management in Los Angeles Must Change, Too
While we will continue to experience aridification and weather whiplash, we can still adapt to this hotter, drier future. To do this, conservation cannot only happen in response to a drought designation, but it must be a way of life. The good news is that there are local and sustainable solutions that individuals can do at home (indoor and outdoor) and systemic changes that we can push for together to be water wise.
We can source enough water locally to support our water needs and drastically reduce our reliance on imported water. This can be done through improving water conservation/efficiency both regionally and at home, groundwater cleanup, stormwater capture, and wastewater purification, without turning to expensive, energy intensive, and environmentally harmful practices such as ocean water desalination. Additionally, there is an opportunity to use nature-based solutions that capture and infiltrate water naturally to support overall ecosystem health, which, in turn, can help to mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis, among myriad additional benefits. In this way we can ensure the human right to water so people can stay safe and healthy, and respect therights of nature by keeping our ecosystems thriving.
Nature-based solutions for stormwater capture. Source: Heal the Bay
Do What You Can When You Can – Stay Informed
Issues of California’s dwindling water supply, increased demand, and uncertain reliability can feel overwhelming. But we are not powerless in this climate crisis. We can all take the Climate Challenge to do what we can when we can. Start today and focus on “what we learn” — or whatever resonates with you. You can stay informed. Heal the Bay can help.
Over the next six months, Heal the Bay will be exploring what it means to live in an arid state, and what climate change, drought, and aridification mean for our water future. We will share solutions and opportunities for advancing water efficiency to become more water wise at home and as a community through collective and regional action. Stay tuned for more content!In the meantime…
💥ASK THE EXPERTS: What do you want to know? Ask our staff scientists any questions you have about aridification, drought, and water conservation. Your answer may be featured in an upcoming blog post or video from Heal the Bay.
Written by Annelisa Moe. As a Heal the Bay Water Quality Scientist, Annelisa helps to keep L.A. water clean and safe by advocating for comprehensive and science-based water quality regulation and enforcement. Before joining the team at Heal the Bay, she worked with the Regional Water Quality Control Board in both the underground storage tank program and the surface water ambient monitoring program.
The Clean Water Act revolutionized water protection law and has resulted in multiple cleanup success stories. However, as of March 2022, the goals of the Clean Water Act are not being met, and there is still much work to be done to achieve fishable, swimmable, drinkable water across the US.
LIVING IN A WATER-SCARCE region like Southern California, I hear this a lot: Water is life! And more than that, the quality of water affects the quality of life for humans, the environment, ecosystems, and, of course, the waters themselves. The US federal government recognized this decades ago, and created the first major federal law in the US to address water pollution, called the 1948 Federal Water Pollution Control Act. However, this policy was ineffective owing to a lack of oversight and enforceability. Public pressure following a series of environmental plights (including the Cuyahoga River catching on fire) forced the US to reconsider its approach, leading to the 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA) Amendment. This amendment, among many upgrades, gave the EPA more regulatory control to enforce clean water requirements and achieve swimmable, fishable, drinkable water.
The CWA protects areas designated as Waters of the US (WOTUS) including streams, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and wetlands. Waters of the US are designated with various beneficial uses such as water supply, navigation, recreation, fishing, habitat, etc. In California, new designation categories are being added now for Tribal Cultural and Subsistence Fishing beneficial uses. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, which reports to the EPA, enforces the federal Clean Water Act locally by determining the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) of pollution that a waterway can handle while still supporting its beneficial uses, and then regulating discharge to stay below that contamination limit. For more information on the structure of the CWA, check out Heal the Bay’s Clean Water Act Knowledge Drop.
Initially, the CWA aimed to achieve pollution-free waters by 1985. Unfortunately, that goal was not met. While this innovative water protection law has resulted in a number of water quality success stories, there is still much work to be done. In fact, as of March 2022, about half of US waterways remain impaired. According to a report from the Environmental Integrity Project, California unfortunately ranked first in the US for most river and stream miles listed as impaired for drinking water, and third for fish consumption.
a) b)
Maps of (a) California and (b) the Los Angeles Region, showing impaired waterways in dark green and unimpaired waterways in light green. Available at: California 2020-2022 Integrated Report
The Los Angeles Region alone has 210 total waterways listed as impaired by pollution in 2022, and since many of those waterways are impaired for more than one pollutant, there are a total of 877 listings in LA. Fifty-four of these listings are related to trash pollution, even though LA was one of the first regions to adopt “zero trash” regulations.
Santa Monica Bay is one of the waterways of LA listed as impaired by trash pollution and the Bay, along with the watersheds that drain into it and the beaches that line it, need care, protection, and advocacy. On Saturday, October 15, 2022, 366 Heal the Bay volunteers took to Will Rogers State Beach, just north of Santa Monica, for one of the biggest Nothin’ But Sand Beach cleanups of the year. In just under two hours, over 145lbs of trash were cataloged and removed from the shore. Thank you to all our volunteers who came out to help keep our precious coastline clean.
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PHOTO SET: Hundreds of volunteers support Heal the Bay’s October Nothin’ But Sand Beach Cleanup in honor of the Clean Water Act 50 Year Anniversary. A special thanks to our cleanup sponsors Subaru and Audacy. Photos by Bria Royal / Heal the Bay
PHOTO: Heal the Bay staff member, Forest Leigh, inspecting trash pollution after a first flush event. Photo by Katherine Pease / Heal the Bay
Despite the remaining pollution in our waters, the Supreme Court is considering changes to the definition of WOTUS, which could leave many waters unprotected under the CWA. But there are also many folks working hard towards swimmable, fishable, drinkable water for all. The EPA rereleased its 2022-2032 Vision for achieving CWA goals. The 2022-2023 Vision aims to maximize coordination through partnerships to plan and prioritize opportunities for holistic watershed protection, restoration, and data analysis; and it includes new focus areas for environmental justice, climate change, tribal water quality, and program development, as well as an increase to overall program capacity. Heal the Bay and other NGOs will continue to advocate for water quality projects and comprehensive and science-based water quality regulation under the CWA.
50 years after the Clean Water Act was established, California’s waterways still need the protection and attention of all those who can help. Discover all the ways you can make an impact. Register to attend Heal the Bay Volunteer Orientation and help us make strides for the next 50 years.
Written by Annelisa Moe. As a Heal the Bay Water Quality Scientist, Annelisa helps to keep L.A. water clean and safe by advocating for comprehensive and science-based water quality regulation and enforcement. Before joining the team at Heal the Bay, she worked with the Regional Water Quality Control Board in both the underground storage tank program and the surface water ambient monitoring program.
Are you ready to advocate for your community? Your region? Your planet? Share your passion with decision-makers using this “how-to” on crafting and delivering written and oral comments. Annelisa Moe, Water Quality Scientist at Heal the Bay (who’s given her fair share of public testimony on local environmental issues) shares tips on how to make public comments and advocate for clean water.
Have you ever wanted to make a real impact on an issue you care about? Maybe you want to discuss getting safer bike lanes, smaller trash bins, or clean water for your community.
One great way to connect with policymakers and officials is by submitting public comments. Heal the Bay regularly submits written and oral comments and over the years, we have seen the direct positive impacts of our advocacy on decision making organizations like the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, LA City Council, CA Coastal Commission, CA Fish & Game Commission, LA County Board of Supervisors, and many more.
Here is Heal the Bay’s Step-by-Step guide on how you can write up and deliver your public comments to advocate for the change you want to see in the world. You have valuable experiences and information to provide to decision-makers and you have everything it takes to become a powerful advocate for the changes you want to see in your community. Let’s get started.
Annelisa Moe, Water Quality Scientist at Heal the Bay and advocate for water quality regulation, shares her thoughts at MS4 Permit hearing last summer. Before joining Heal the Bay, Moe worked with the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Step I: Identify Your Influencer
The first step toward constructing the perfect public comment is identifying the right decision-maker to engage. This could include influencers from a wide variety of public offices, from Neighborhood Council Members to Senators. These decision-makers want to hear from the public, especially from constituents like you, and oftentimes this input informs their initiatives.
Step II: Gather Information
Every decision-maker (State Board, Committee, Senator, Council Member, etc.) will have their preferred way for you to sign up to speak or send in written comments, and it can be pretty confusing – even for professionals who give public comments for a living! Once you identify who you want to communicate with, look online for the following:
A meeting agenda for the Council or Committee you are interested in
Detailed information on how to submit written or oral comments
Deadlines on written comments and time limits for oral comments
Contact information for an elected official or decision-making body.
Written comments could be a more formal written letter, or something a little less formal like an email or online submission. No matter what the format is, these seven basic elements provide a good place to start:
Address the decision-maker, and introduce yourself
State what you are commenting on and why (provide an agenda # if applicable)
Provide a personal story or anecdote
Add in stats, facts, and figures (if you have them)
End stating your position again and thanking the decision-maker(s) for the opportunity to comment
Ask a peer to proofread your comment and edit for spelling, grammar, consistent spacing, and font type
Emphasize importance by repeating certain phrases, or by adding bold, italics, or underline effects to your text (sparingly)
Keep in mind that you do not have to write a novel. A comment of any length can have an impact, especially if you write in your voice and get creative. It doesn’t matter if there is a small error or something that you missed; the important part is that you are sharing your opinion and your passion with people and organizations who can influence big decisions.
Perhaps you’d rather show up in person (or virtually, as is common these days) to a meeting and speak directly to the decision-makers. A little bit of prep work can help here, too.
The public comment period at most meetings is usually time-limited, and that time can range anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes. To make sure you do not run out of time, or leave out some important information, we recommend writing out your comments to reference while you speak.
Write out a full script and read your comment word for word or use bullet points to guide your comments more naturally. In either case, your oral comment should include the same seven basic elements as a written comment (review in the written comments section above).
Be sure to practice saying your comment aloud with a timer to get comfortable and ensure you are under the time limit. It can be helpful to do this with a friend who is willing to listen and provide feedback. Try to make sure you are familiar with the platform on which the meeting will be hosted (e.g. Zoom, WebEx), how to give public comments at your specific meeting, and if and when you might need to register for that meeting. When it comes time to give your comment at the meeting, remember to be clear and concise, take your time and breathe, annunciate, and speak more slowly than you think you need to (we all tend to speed up when we are nervous).
To hear a (rather exceptional) example, listen to this comment by a high school student (and former Club Heal the Bay member) Bella Wash at a Regional Water Board meeting, concerning their decision on the regional stormwater permit.
Step IV: Submit Your Comment
When you use your voice to advocate for change our policymakers listen, and you don’t have to do it alone. You can inspire others in your community to use their voices and public comments to improve the world around you and as always Heal the Bay is here to help empower you! Contact Heal the Bay when you need help and jumpstart your journey as an advocate today.
Raise your Voice This July
The Regional Board is currently updating their regulation of toxic pollution (including DDT) in Dominguez Channel, Los Angeles Harbor, and Long Beach Harbor. Public comments will be accepted until July 26. Heal the Bay is wading through all of the details now–so stay tuned for more information in the next few weeks!
Another ocean water desalination plant has been proposed for construction in Huntington Beach. This project has also been opposed by the environmental community and by the public for years. Poseidon will be applying for a coastal development permit to build their ocean water desalination plant with the CA Coastal Commission. This meeting was originally scheduled for Thursday, March 17, 2022. However, the meeting has been postponed, and no new date has been announced yet. Keep an eye out – we’ll let you know when it gets rescheduled.
UPDATE 2/10/2022
Two critical decisions were made in 2021 to protect LA’s coastal waters from the negative impacts of large-scale ocean water pumping. All too often, we see exemptions, extensions, and approvals for projects that threaten our coastal waters, but the tides may be turning!
Previous extension approvals allowed the Redondo Beach Once Through Cooling Facility to avoid fees associated with years of water quality violations; a trend that ended with this Regional Board Vote. And, LA County’s West Basin Board of Directors voted to terminate a massive ocean desalination project proposed for El Segundo in a shocking step forward for protecting coastal waters.
Are these victories signs of systemic change? And what can Californians do to keep this trend of transformation going while combating large-scale industrial interests that are dangerous to our environment and public health?
Let’s jump into what we mean by ‘ocean water pumping’ and how these two coastal project decisions uphold the Clean Water Act, which is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year.
Protecting the Santa Monica Bay from Harmful Industrial Water Pumping
Industrial water use includes the large-scale pumping (or “intake”) of ocean water and it has severe negative impacts on the health of our coastal waters. The intake of ocean water threatens sea life with impingement (being sucked up against an intake pipe) and entrainment (being sucked up into an intake pipe), both of which can cause serious injury or death. The Clean Water Act of 1972, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, requires the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate this pumping to minimize those negative impacts.
At the end of 2021, two critical decisions were made right here in Los Angeles, that support these Clean Water Act regulations by limiting industrial ocean water intake and holding those who continue to use it accountable.
Rejection of Extension Request from the Redondo Beach AES Power Plant and Once-Through Cooling Facility
Seabirds and Pinnipeds are just a few species that can be affected by the Once-Through Cooling process used in locations like Redondo Beach (King Harbor / Dana Murry )
Once-Through Cooling (OTC) is a process used by power generating facilities to cool down generators using water. Most of these facilities, especially in California, are located along the coast, positioned to use ocean water. But this kind of large-scale ocean water intake is what threatens sea life with impingement and entrainment. After the water is used, it is usually released back into the ocean, but oftentimes at a higher temperature and with pollutants from the equipment, causing possible water quality violations and concerns for coastal wildlife.
OTC was first recognized as a threat to California’s fisheries, estuaries, bays, and coastal waters in 2005, leading to the approval of a Statewide OTC Policy in 2010. Heal the Bay was one of many stakeholders that worked together to craft the requirements of the OTC Policy. One major compromise was the long time schedule, giving all OTC facilities 10+ years to either shut down or transition away from OTC operations. Now that we are finally approaching those deadlines, we are seeing many of these OTC facilities asking for extensions beyond the original 10+ year grace period.
Over the last two years, the Redondo Beach OTC Facility has requested two separate extensions for operation. Despite opposition from environmental groups and Redondo Beach Mayor Brand, the State Board approved both, allowing the Redondo Beach OTC Facility to continue operations through December 31, 2023. The Redondo Beach Facility then requested an extension (referred to as a Time Schedule Order) from the Regional Water Quality Control Board to essentially waive any fees for water quality violations of the OTC wastewater they release during this time.
On December 9, 2021, the Regional Water Board voted 3-1 to deny this request after hearing clear opposition from NGOs like Heal the Bay, as well as from representatives from the City of Redondo Beach. This was the first time in years that the Regional Board has denied any Time Schedule Order request. The Redondo Beach Facility is still allowed to operate, but they are no longer exempt from fines associated with their contaminated OTC wastewater discharges. If the vote had gone the other way, it would have provided a clear and easy path for additional operational extensions. This critical decision by the Regional Water Board will help to protect water quality by putting pressure on the Redondo Beach Facility to shut down their OTC operations by the new December 31, 2023 deadline.
Termination of the West Basin Ocean Water Desalination Project
Desalination, or the process of sucking in seawater and removing the salt to convert it to freshwater, might initially seem like a logical way to get more freshwater for Southern California. But ocean water desalination has many negative impacts on the environment, and the truth is that we do not need it. Although Southern California does face consistent drought conditions, we can source enough water locally to support all of our water needs without ocean water desalination by focusing on smart water practices like water conservation, recycling efforts, and stormwater capture. One of the myriad problems with desalination is the ocean water intake process, which poses the same impingement and entrainment threat as OTC operations.
The West Basin Municipal Water District had proposed an ocean water desalination plant in El Segundo, intending to reuse decommissioned OTC piping to intake ocean water. This project has been hotly contested for decades, with strong opposition from the environmental community (including Heal the Bay) as well as from the public, because it is the most expensive and energy-intensive way to obtain fresh water and simply does not make sense for Southern California.
At a meeting of the West Basin Board of Directors on December 23, 2021, the Board voted 3-2 to terminate the ocean water desalination project, after hearing from 25 members of the public speaking in opposition to the project. Many factors contributed to this decision including a report from West Basin proving that ocean water desalination is not needed to meet water supply demands for LA. But a final vote from Board Member Houston, quoting the fact that there is no longer public support for the project, broke the tie.
Upholding the Clean Water Act to protect our water, ecosystems, and communities
West Basin’s decision to terminate its ocean water desalination project stopped new industrial intake from affecting our coastal waters and stopped an unnecessary, expensive, and energy-intensive system from being built. The Regional Water Board’s decision to deny the Redondo Beach Facility Time Schedule Order provides extra incentive for the Facility to stop intake operations and to shut down the inefficient, fossil fuel burning Redondo Beach Facility altogether. Both decisions protect coastal waters, ecosystems, and communities in Santa Monica Bay and uphold the Clean Water Act by minimizing the negative impacts of industrial intakes.
Save the Date to Advocate Against Ocean Water Desalination
Both decisions were swayed by public demand for safe and clean water, but we cannot stop here. To shift the tides so that public and environmental protection becomes the standard, we need more decisions like these. You can help to advocate against ocean water desalination and demand safe and clean water for all.
Another ocean water desalination plant has been proposed for construction in Huntington Beach. This project has also been opposed by the environmental community and by the public for years. Poseidon will be applying for a coastal development permit to build their ocean water desalination plant with the CA Coastal Commission on Thursday, March 17, 2022. Check out this Fact Sheet from the CA Coastal Commission for more information or engage with our partners at Orange County Coastkeeper to advocate against ocean water desalination.
UPDATED NOTE: As of February 28, 2022 the March 17, 2022 meeting has been postponed and no new date has been announced.
Thank you to all who rushed to the beaches of Southern California on December 4-5, 2021 and January 2-3, 2022 to help us document the King Tide. Your observations were vital to preparing Los Angeles for a future affected by climate change.
The culminating point of the King Tide gave us a glimpse of what California’s sea-level rise may look like, while the low tide during this phenomenon showed us the gravity of a shifting ocean.
This allowed scientists and the public to observe first-hand the intertidal habitats that are threatened by rapid sea-level rise. These habitats can be observed during normal low tides, but the extra low tide experienced during the event allowed for even more opportunities to observe and explore. During the King Tide, images were captured of threatened sea life, and people getting up close to observe it.
Although the low tide revealed a new view of ecosystems most people don’t get to see, capturing the high tide was just as important. The USGS has noted that “as beaches decrease in height and width with rising seas, the already narrow intertidal zones—supporting invertebrates that help cycle nutrients by breaking down organic matter—shrink further.” (How Rising Seas Push Coastal Systems Beyond Tipping Points | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)).
Images collected during these past King Tide events will not only help illuminate what the future impact of climate change will have on our California communities, but they also bring to light what ecosystems are threatened as climate change moves past the tipping point.
Photos of Santa Monica Pier at the low point during King Tide. Taken by Michelle Zentgraf.
An aerial view over the Scottish city of Glasgow, looking eastwards up the River Clyde.
Global leaders met in Glasgow at COP26 from Oct. 31 – Nov. 13, 2021, to discuss the climate crisis and how to address it. Failed promises and delayed action in the face of immediate impacts led many attendees and observers to protest and demand more from their leaders. Some positive steps were taken, but we need more ambitious goals, comprehensive plans, actual implementation now, and equitable support for climate mitigation and adaptation.
The Climate Crisis
Worldwide, we are spewing 152 million tons of human-made global warming pollution like CO2 into our atmosphere every day, causing average temperatures to rise. The largest source of this global warming pollution is the burning of fossil fuels. Earlier this year, CO2 levels passed 420 parts per million for the first time. This unfortunate milestone means we are rapidly approaching the threshold of 1.5°C temperature increase, a climate tipping point that will make it more difficult to sustain healthy natural systems. It also means that climate change is already here. We see evidence around the globe and in Los Angeles with ocean acidification, sea level rise, intense droughts and wildfires, record-breaking storm events, and more frequent deadly heatwaves.While we are all impacted by these rapid changes, a history of racially discriminatory land and environmental policies has caused an unjust and disproportionate impact on overburdened communities of color.
COP26
The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) brought countries together this year to discuss the climate crisis and commit to action toward achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement – primarily to limit global temperature rise to 1.5° C and provide support for climate mitigation and adaptation in developing countries*. But it was not only global leaders and decision makers who traveled to Glasgow for this summit. Activists from across the world turned out for this critical event, demanding action.
“A lot of people ask me, what are my hopes for COP? And honestly, I don’t have any hopes. I have expectations and I have demands, because we are tired of hoping. We don’t need hope. We need action.”
Wealthier countries*, often the ones contributing the most global warming pollution, have failed to deliver on promises made in the original Paris Agreement to build clean energy systems and provide support to pay for climate related damages in under-resourced countries. Developing countries* are impacted most acutely by the climate crisis as are communities of color.
“There is an odd duality that comes with being one of few environmentalists of color in such an exclusive space. On one hand, we understand the privilege we’ve been granted to represent our people and advocate for our livelihoods. On the other hand, we have to deal with not being fully valued or actually listened to.”
– Leah Thomas, intersectional environmentalist from the United States
Yet they are underrepresented at COP26 and other similar conferences that are supposed to be coming up with global solutions. This gap in representation in the conversations and negotiations that impact them the most has a compounding negative effect for developing countries who also have a lack of access to resources to adapt to the changing climate.
“I am tired of applauding my people’s resilience. True resilience is not just defined by a nation’s grit but by our access to financial resources.”
There have been a number of exciting announcements to come out of COP26. World leaders have committed to end deforestation by 2030. The US joined the pledge to reduce methane emissions (another critical greenhouse gas), backed by new EPA regulations. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a global coalition of cities committed to cutting emissions in half by 2030 and achieving net-zero emission by 2050. And recent pledges from wealthier counties* have narrowed the gap in achieving the $100 billion funding commitment made in the Paris Agreement to support mitigation and adaptation in developing countries*.
The COP26 report also claims that the goal to stay below a temperature increase of 1.5° C remains in sight, but evidence shows that our current trajectory is way off course. The most recent IPCC report proves that this goal is still possible, but it will require immediate and drastic action. Countries will need to commit to much more stringent goals, develop comprehensive and transparent plans to get there, and (most importantly) follow through on those promises. Considering the lack of progress, it is no wonder that activists turned out en masse to demand more from their world leaders.
“They are pledging for the future, yet we are experiencing the crisis right now. We want them to act now. We want solutions, not promises. We want implementations, not pledges.Their negotiations are running on how not to top 1.5, but 1.2 is already hell to us.”
Heal the Bay is committed to climate action, and believes we need bold global action now to combat the climate crisis, and for us, this starts at home. The United States has made plans and has entered agreements, yet our leaders continue to approve new oil drilling leases. LA is home to the largest urban oil field in the US. There are so many groups in Los Angeles and California fighting for climate action and environmental justice. One of those groups is VISION (Voices in Solidarity Against Oil in Neighborhoods). You can join VISION and submit your own comment letter today to fight against fossil fuels. Tell California Officials: No Drilling Where We’re Living!
Join VISION to call for:
A 3,200-foot setback for new oil and gas wells
No redrilling of existing wells within the 3,200-foot setback
Ban all new permits within the 3,200-foot setback until the final rule is in effect
*The phrases ‘wealthier countries’ and ‘developing countries’ are used in the COP26 report and the Paris Agreement without definition. The lack of specificity in these classifications further highlights inequities in the global approach to solving climate change.
The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board chose to delay clean water progress by extending the deadlines polluters have to reduce their stormwater pollution, up to 6.5 years in some cases. Their decision allows the continued discharge of pollutants from across LA to drain through our communities and into the Pacific Ocean.
UPDATE 9/30/2021
On September 21, 2021, the State Water Resources Control Board approved the LA Regional Water Board’s extensions for nine water quality deadlines ranging from 1.5-6.5 years, allowing for the continued discharge of pollutants from across LA to drain through our communities and into the Pacific Ocean.
This decision was made without evidence of good faith efforts towards achieving the requirements, without justifying the need for those extensions, and without putting in place sufficient oversight requirements to ensure progress is made. This is a terrible precedent to set considering how important these deadlines are.
However, comments from Heal the Bay along with our partners at LA Waterkeeper in opposition to these deadline extensions, did at least give pause to Board Members before their final decision. During Board deliberations, the lack of progress (only 6% complete) was highlighted, the need for accountability was raised, and a clear statement was made that the COVID-19 pandemic is not a reason to weaken water quality standards (which would further threaten public health). Board members also stated that this approval does not mean that deadlines can be delayed indefinitely.
If permittees return to once again request extensions, we will remind the State Board members of these declarations. Together we can Take LA By Storm to keep permittees accountable to these new deadlines and to their Clean Water Act requirements. Sign up for emails to stay informed, receive implementation updated, and find out how you can engage in the process!
During the February hearing on TMDL deadline extensions, the LA Regional Water Board voted to approve extensions for nine TMDLs ranging from 1.5-6.5 years, allowing for the continued discharge of pollutants from across LA to drain through our communities and into the Pacific Ocean. But this decision must be approved by the State Water Resources Control Board before it is made official.
On March 11, 2021 the LA Regional Water Board voted to extend nine water quality deadlines, which were set decades ago to improve water quality and protect the health of our communities and our ecosystems. This sends a dangerous message that it is ok to continue contaminating our neighborhoods, rivers, and ocean even after long-standing deadlines have passed us by.
The Clean Water Act of 1972 protects our rivers and oceans by limiting the amount of pollution that can be discharged into them. Under the Clean Water Act, a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) refers to the maximum amount of pollution that a waterbody can handle before people get sick or aquatic life is harmed. Environmental groups fought hard to make the Regional Water Boards start paying attention to TMDLs starting in the 1990s.
There are 59 TMDLs in the Los Angeles Region for various contaminants (trash, bacteria, etc) polluting our rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. Some have deadlines as late as 2038, so there is still time to meet those limits. Others are due this year, and some have already passed. These TMDL deadlines were set decades ago with lengthy timelines that gave dischargers (called “permittees”) many years, in some cases nearly 20 years, to achieve these pollution limits. The deadlines were developed through extensive negotiations with all stakeholders. Heal the Bay and concerned community members from all over the County showed up at Regional Water Board hearings to demand pollution limits and clean water. At that time, we celebrated these TMDLs and believed our regulators would finally hold polluters accountable for meeting them.
Unfortunately, permittees are far behind schedule in reducing polluted discharges, as Heal the Bay reported back in 2019 in our Stormwater Report. Last year, the LA Regional Water Board confirmed this trend of very slow progress, reporting that only 6.6% of required pollution reduction projects were completed in the areas that received deadline extensions. The lack of measurability and accountability within the Stormwater Permit allowed this slow progress to go unnoticed for years. When it was finally daylighted, the LA Regional Water Board did nothing to correct it.
As a result, there are several TMDLs with imminent deadlines that will not be met, and others that are well past due. Because of the extremely slow progress over the last 20 years, permittees are complaining that these ~20-year deadlines are now unrealistic, and have requested 10+ years of extra time! It seems they feel no urgency to clean up our community’s waterways.
Meanwhile, water quality suffers. You can see that by checking California’s List of Impaired Waters, where 208 waterbodies in the LA Region are listed as polluted by multiple contaminants. You can see it in UCLA’s 2019 Water Report Card, which assigned LA surface waters a dismal grade of D/Incomplete. You can see it in Heal the Bay’s River Report Card when bacteria still plagues our rivers even during dry weather, and in our Beach Report Card when grades across the board plummet during wet weather. There are other reports that tell a similar story, and we have yet to see any report that tells a different one. LA’s water is contaminated, stormwater is the primary source of that pollution, and no one is being held accountable for cleaning it up.
The recent hearing on TMDL deadline extensions was contentious. After much discussion, three of the seven Board Members voted to provide the 10 year extensions requested by permittees. But the majority of Board Members favored shorter extensions, and spoke powerfully in favor of clean water protection and environmental justice. In the end, they voted to approve extensions for nine TMDLs ranging from 1.5-6.5 years, rather than 10 or more years. While any extension delays progress towards achieving clean water, shorter extensions at least reign in further delays to achieving clean water.
Four of the Board Members also asked for better accountability from permittees, so we don’t end up right back here two decades from now, with poor water quality, wishing more had been done. Clear accountability can only be achieved through a strong Stormwater Permit. Unfortunately, our analysis of the Stormwater Permit clearly shows that the kind of accountability requested by the Board Members does not currently exist.
One bright spot: the Stormwater Permit is up for renewal later this year, meaning we have a chance to make it better. We are asking Regional Water Board staff and Board Members to support clear, numeric pollution limits so we can hold permittees accountable to actually meet the new deadlines, because everyone in LA County deserves safe, clean water.
Together we can Take LA By Storm to demand clear, measurable, and enforceable goals in the 2021 MS4 Permit. Sign up for emails to stay informed of the process and how you can take part!
Our coastline is shrinking, but what can Los Angeles do about it?
Knowledge is power. Attend the discussion panel of the year at Hermosa Beach Community Center, “Rising Tides: Exploring LA’s Readiness for Sea Level Rise,” to find out.
Nature-based solutions for stormwater capture. Source: Heal the Bay
