Heal the Bay Blog

Aug. 17, 2016 —  Just departed president Alix Hobbs made asking the hard questions look easy, writes Communications Director Matthew King.

No. It’s one of the simplest words in the English language, but often one of the hardest to say.

Heal the Bay has a team of passionate advocates whose heads are filled with big ideas. These well-meaning initiatives, cooked up in the excitement of a brainstorming meeting or a flurry of overly optimistic emails, can quickly take a life of their own. Other priorities established weeks ago are set aside, as the team chases the new concept like 8-year-olds scurrying in unison after a soccer ball at a Saturday AYSO game.

The problem with good ideas is that they are just ideas – and often not very good ones. (“Hey, let’s create a giant sea star on the beach made of glued-together cigarette butts!”) Pursuing them costs time and money – two of any nonprofit’s most precious assets.

Heal the Bay, like any well-run organization, simply needs someone smart to say No. Someone to ask the hard questions. For many years that person was Alix Hobbs, our just departed president.

It isn’t an easy job, nor a glamorous one, but it’s critical to our success. She had to make choices on matters as mundane as selecting our credit card company, and as soul-shaking as personnel reductions. And during my nine-year tenure here, Alix did it with conviction, fairness and a clear sense of purpose.

Nonprofits love to hold meetings.  We discuss items to death. We form subcommittees to offer preferred alternatives. Everyone has a voice, and consensus is desperately sought. But ultimately someone has to make a decision. And lately that fell to Alix in her duties overseeing Heal the Bay for the past two years.

A naval commander’s daughter, Alix was to the captain’s bridge born. When faced with a decision, she surveys the options as if scanning the open sea. After careful consideration, amid often conflicting voices, she’ll speak in a firm, clear voice about which way to point the boat. That confidence is reassuring to a busy crew seeking calm in the middle of a minor squall.

Alix had grown up professionally at the organization, serving capably in a variety of roles for nearly 20 years – from volunteer to Coastal Cleanup Day coordinator to Programs Director. But some of her greatest work came serving largely behind the scenes as Associate Director during the tenure of past president Mark Gold. Essentially acting as our CFO, she made sure the trains ran on time — managing budgets, overseeing operations, shepherding grants — so our policy and education teams could do their amazing work.

Then the board threw her into a new challenge – settling the HTB ship after a few turbulent years. As our new chief, she was tasked with spearheading the creation and adoption of a comprehensive 10-year strategic plan. She also was asked to lead a fundraising campaign to solidify our financial foundation as the regional economy finally woke from its slumber.

Speaking directly and confidently with the media and general public, Alix made my job as Communications Director easier. Statuesque with preppy good looks, she exudes self-assurance. I once told her that she reminded me of the dark-haired actress Ali MacGraw. She quickly shot back: “Who’s Ali MacGraw?,” making me feel a thousand years old. (If you’re under 40, you can Google “Love Story” or “Steve McQueen’s wife.”)

But Alix and I occasionally butted heads over the years, be it about staffing levels in my department or the tone of an email blast. I’m a right-brain type, acting on instinct and intuition; she’s a left-brainer, guided by reason and analytics. We usually approached a potential problem from differing perspectives. But we typically came to an agreement that best served the organization. To her credit, she trusted me to do my job and always gave me creative latitude and authority.

Having fulfilled her mandate, Alix is now moving on and has accepted a job as president of the Crystal Cove Alliance in Newport Beach. She’ll get a chance to test out her entrepreneurial skills and expand her management chops in the hospitality field.

The good news is that Alix will remain connected to Heal the Bay. She has accepted a voting position on our board of directors and will have a voice in our future direction.

With respect and gratitude, I look forward to hearing many more No’s from her.

Aug. 15, 2016 — Longtime board member takes reins from Alix Hobbs, who is departing for new job running the Crystal Cove Alliance in Orange County.

Heal the Bay’s board of directors has announced that Stephanie Medina will serve as interim president and CEO following the recent departure of  Alix Hobbs as chief of the environmental nonprofit.

Medina, a longtime board member and past chairman, will assume responsibility for financial, operational and strategic oversight of the organization.

She will share management duties with vice president Sarah Sikich, who oversees science and policy initiatives. In the coming months, the board will pursue a leadership search that includes both internal and external candidates.

The move follows the board of directors’ adoption of comprehensive 10-year strategic plan spearheaded by Hobbs, as well as a highly successful fundraising campaign to solidify the group’s financial foundation amid a slowly recovering regional economy.

Hobbs, a nearly 20-veteran of the Santa Monica-based nonprofit, has accepted a job as president of the Crystal Cove Alliance in Newport Beach. She will remain connected to Heal the Bay, and has accepted a voting position on our board of directors.

“The Heal the Bay family is exactly that — a family of devoted, passionate, capable and smart people,” said Hobbs. “So stepping away after all these years is emotional. But I depart knowing that we have left the next generation with something much better than what we inherited.”

A San Fernando Valley resident, Medina has held several management positions in the nonprofit and media sectors. She most recently served as a senior vice president of community relations for the Special Olympics’ World Games 2015, following positions directing Public Affairs at broadcast stations KTLA and KCAL/KCBS. She also served on the city of Los Angeles’ Transportation Commission.

“Having served on the board for so many years, I got to see the good work that our staff and volunteers do,” said Medina. “But now I get to come into our office every day! I couldn’t be more honored to lead the team in our next phase of growth.”

As part of its new strategic plan, the staff and board of Heal the Bay is focusing on three key directional goals in the coming decade:

• To better protect public health, we will work to ensure that people can swim and fish at every beach in L.A. County without risk of getting sick.
• To ensure a more sustainable water future, we will work to ensure that L.A. County sources 60% of its water locally through conservation and reuse by 2025.
• To restore the vibrancy of our local oceans and watersheds, we will work to ensure that all greater L.A. coastal and river habitats are healthy.

July 27, 2016 — Heal the Bay released today a landmark study of water quality in the Los Angeles River. Dr. Katherine Pease, the study’s author, explains why improving the river’s water quality should be an integral part of any plan to restore it.

Last week’s massive 2.4 million gallon sewage spill into the Los Angeles River and subsequent closure of local beaches illustrates the serious water-quality challenges facing our inland waterways.

Sewage spills are unusual one-time events, but a new study that I have just completed demonstrates that bacterial pollution continues to plague the river on a chronic, long-term basis. We are releasing the results today.

The findings are a cause for both concern and opportunity — given the growing recreational uses of the river and a $1 billion revitalization plan for L.A.’s central water body.

The L.A. River Study

• Full Report
• Recreation Zone Maps
• Figures
• Appendices
• Press Release

The study shows that popular recreation spots along the Los Angeles River suffer from very poor water quality, which poses health risks to the growing number of people who fish, swim and kayak in its waters.

Kayaking and other recreational opportunities are frequently described by participants as transformational in their perception of the Los Angeles River. Getting on the water helps people move beyond the stereotypical image of a concrete drainage ditch to a vision of a vibrant river filled with life and potential.

My transformational moment at the river took place in 2009 when I was asked by a friend to participate in River School, an educational event put on by Friends of the Los Angeles River (FOLAR) in the Elysian Valley. We scouted an area by Fletcher Avenue the day before, searching for examples of native and non-native plants as well as aquatic life in scoops of water.

I was amazed at this newly discovered area that had been hiding in plain sight. I found a hawk pellet underneath an overpass of a busy street. I ate a mulberry from a tree growing in the river. I also saw signs of a waterbody that needed help. Pollution in the form of trash was obvious, but the unseen pollution was also troubling.

The importance of developing a personal connection to the river cannot be overstated. Heal the Bay hopes that people continue to have transformational moments in its waters and that the river itself can be transformed into a waterbody meeting its beneficial uses of recreation, recharging groundwater, and providing habitat for wildlife.

But we have a long way to go – as the study clearly demonstrates.

Building on Heal the Bay’s work as a watchdog for public health at local beaches, we began monitoring popular, previously unmonitored freshwater recreational areas in 2014 starting with swimming holes in the Santa Monica Mountains, and adding sites in the L.A. River in 2015.

Heal the Bay staff scientists collected and tested water samples weekly for fecal indicator bacteria at three sites in the two recreation zones in the Sepulveda Basin and Elysian Valley areas of the river over a three-month period in summer 2015.

Bacteria levels varied among the sites in the new L.A. River study, but overall were quite high. For example, samples for one type of fecal indicator bacteria, Enterococcus, exceeded federal standards 100% of the time at two sites in Elysian Valley (Rattlesnake Park and Steelhead Park) and 50% of the time in Sepulveda Basin. The Rattlesnake Park site also suffered from a 67% exceedance rate for E. coli.

These exceedances indicate risk for ear infections, respiratory illnesses and gastrointestinal illnesses for people who come in contact with the water.

Much of the water that flows in the L.A. River is highly treated and sanitized wastewater from the city of L.A.’s Tillman Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys, nearly 16 million gallons a day. Tillman’s discharge is not considered a source of bacterial pollution, and without its flow there would likely be no kayaking in the Los Angeles River.

Although the recreation zones were previously unassessed, monitoring in other stretches of the L.A. River show high bacteria counts, which led to the L.A. River’s designation by the state as a bacteria-impaired waterbody. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board has also imposed a bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL, for the river, which identifies several contributors of harmful bacteria to recreational zones along the river: urban runoff, leaks and flows from wastewater collection systems, illicit connections and failing septic systems. Bacteria sources include pets, horses and human waste.

By law, cities along the river and entities who discharge into it are required to enact pollution-reducing measures to comply with the federal Clean Water Act. The final deadlines for these regulations are a ways off, with interim and final goals set for 2030 and 2037, respectively. However, cities have worked together to develop an Enhanced Watershed Management Plan to address these issues with shorter-term milestones along the way.

In the report, Heal the Bay staff scientists laud recent efforts to revitalize the L.A. River and to open up public access to recreational zones. However, water quality improvements are needed to expand these opportunities and protect public health.

The federal Army Corps of Engineers has an approved $1.3-billion plan to revitalize an 11-mile stretch of the river, focusing on habitat and recreational improvement. Heal the Bay strongly urges that rehabilitation work incorporate specific and measurable measures to enhance water quality.

The full report has a detailed list of recommendations for increasing beneficial uses while protecting public health. Among them:

• Swimming: While many families recreate in the water, particularly on hot days, adults and children should avoid swimming in the L.A. River, particularly submersing their heads under water. We envision a swimmable L.A. River one day but current water quality is not yet at a healthful level. If there is any water contact, rinse off with soap and water afterward.
• Kayaking and Angling: People should limit water contact, especially avoiding hand-to-face water contact. Users should not enter the water with an open wound, if immunocompromised, or after a rainfall. If there is water contact, rinse off with soap and water afterward.
• Public notification: All groups promoting recreation in the L.A. River should provide water quality information and best practices to all participants, using consistent, accurate and prominent information on all outreach materials, and in multiple languages, consistent with the demographics of visitors.
• Increased monitoring: The City of Los Angeles or responsible municipal agency should institute, at a minimum, weekly water quality testing for fecal indicator bacteria in the recreation zones during the open season (Memorial Day to the end of September), and at other known swimming spots along the Los Angeles River.

The City of Los Angeles recently convened a stakeholder workshop to discuss water quality issues in the L.A. River and specific near-term and long-term measures to ensure that the public is informed of water quality issues. We had a robust discussion about ways to minimize risk and to implement solutions to reduce chronic pollution. We are cautiously optimistic and look forward to working with the City to put these plans into motion.

At the regional level, Heal the Bay continues to advocate for funding for comprehensive water-quality improvement projects like increased stormwater capture and wastewater recycling. These measures would reduce polluted flow into our recreation zones while increasing local water supplies in a time of drought.

About Heal the Bay and the L.A. River

Heal the Bay has been monitoring water quality in streams and rivers since 1998 through our Stream Team program. In 2014 we initiated a pilot study to monitor human use and water quality of freshwater swimming spots in the Santa Monica Mountains, focusing on bacterial pollution and public health implications.

We are currently in our third summer of monitoring water quality in those swimming locations. Given Heal the Bay’s 25-year history of informing and educating beach-goers about beach water quality through our Beach Report Card, assessing the water quality of the Los Angeles River recreation zones was a natural next step.

Heal the Bay has a long history of work on the Los Angeles River; we have advocated for improved habitat, water quality, and recreation by weighing in on numerous policies and permits concerning the Los Angeles River such as TMDLs, the Recreational Use Reassessment (RECUR) study, permits for dredging and clearing vegetation, and other regulatory actions.