Heal the Bay Blog

Heal the Bay has a 29-year track record of defending Southern California’s watersheds, beaches and ocean, and 2014 marked another year of significant wins. Here’s a quick look at some of our top accomplishments, made possible by the generous support of our network of activists, donors, volunteers and educators.

Reducing blight and waste by playing a lead role in drafting and advocating for the just-enacted plastic bag ban in the state of California. The ban will remove an estimated 13 billion bags out of the waste-stream, lessening the environmental and economic harm posed by plastic pollution in our neighborhoods and oceans.

Enhancing local water by leading the legislative charge in Sacramento to enact AB 2403, which makes it easier for cities to secure public funding for multi-benefit water projects. Instead of importing costly and increasingly scarce water, we need infrastructure that repurposes the water we already have, such as stormwater capture facilities and wastewater recycling plants.

Safeguarding millions of ocean goers by providing weekly water quality grades for a record number of beaches along the Pacific Coast – 455. The good news is that some 95% of beaches in California received A or B grades in our annual report, a 2% gain from last year’s survey.

Beautifying shorelines by hosting 654 beach cleanups and educating 37,497 volunteers, a 3% increase from last year. These volunteers removed more than 23 tons of ocean-bound trash, guarding local marine animals that can be harmed by ingesting debris or becoming entangled in it.

Protecting open spaces by advancing L.A. County’s newly adopted Santa Monica Mountains Local Coastal Plan, which will protect scenic views, water quality and wild lands across 52,000 acres. We shaped this important guidance document for 10 years, successfully pairing limited development with land conservation in America’s largest urban national park.

Inspiring stewardship by welcoming a record number of visitors to our Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, which features animals found in our local waters. In addition, nearly 12,000 students on field trips received hands-on marine education and explored the newly opened Green Room, which honors our founding president Dorothy Green by educating visitors about local watersheds.

So thank you to all that volunteered at an event, signed a petition, attended a hearing, visited our Aquarium or shared information on our social networks. It takes a village to heal the Bay!

Please make your year-end gift now to ensure that we can hit the ground running in 2015.

Staff Scientist Dana Roeber Murray says a newly identified virus has wiped out millions of sea stars in California.

Where have all our sea stars gone? Once abundant in our tidepools and rocky reefs, millions of sea stars have wasted away and disappeared along our coast. Just last weekend as I went tidepool exploring at Leo Carrillo State Beach during a minus tide, we encountered octopuses, sea hares, urchins, and little fish — but not a single sea star. This time last year, the scene included missing limbs … melting masses of flesh … gooey lesions overtaking the entire body. Divers and tidepoolers encountered numerous sea stars with white lesions that eventually decomposed body tissue into a goo-like blob.

Over the past year, an international team of scientists worked together to get to the bottom of the mysterious marine infectious disease wiping out our sea stars. Just this week scientists have identified the pathogen responsible for the West Coast sea star die-off, through research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists say that the virus is different from all other known viruses infecting marine animals, and they’ve named it “sea star associated densovirus.” The progression of symptoms can be very rapid, with initial signs leading to death within a few days. Figuring out marine diseases and identifying what virus is to blame is difficult because one drop of seawater can contain 10 million viruses. Researchers had to sort through millions of marine viruses to identify the culprit.

The identified densovirus weakens the sea star’s immune system, making it more susceptible to bacterial infections, such as sea star wasting disease, a fast-moving scourge that has occurred along our coast for decades, but not at the recent widespread level. Reports of disintegrating sea stars have come from as far north as Anchorage, Alaska, to our shores along Palos Verdes, and down south to La Jolla. The current epidemic began in Washington in June 2013; since then at least 12 different species of sea stars and even some purple sea urchins have been found as victims. By the fall of 2013, the disease had become widespread along the Pacific coast.

Sea stars, in particular ochre stars, are an important keystone species that have the potential to dramatically alter rocky intertidal community composition. Removal of this top predator from intertidal ecosystems can affect the whole food chain. After past wasting events, ochre stars were absent along Southern California’s shoreline for years.

Going forward, scientists will be observing the next generation of baby sea stars that are starting to show up along some Pacific Coast beaches. “We are interested in the potential for stars to develop resistance to this outbreak,” says Drew Harvell, a marine epidemiologist at Cornell University and the University of Washington who has been coordinating the research. “The only way forward and to have sea stars in the future is for them to develop resistance and having new stars to propagate.”

Leading scientists continue to investigate environmental factors that may have caused sea stars to be more susceptible to viral infections. Those factors include effects from climate change such as warming ocean waters and ocean acidification. Important to note, there is no evidence at all that links the current wasting event to the ongoing disaster at the Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan.

Scientists ask the public to keep an eye out for infected sea stars and urchins. If you see any possible infections while out in our local intertidal and subtidal seas, please report your findings to seastarwasting.org.

If you’ve enjoyed a day at Southern California beaches anytime over the past 10 years, take a moment to thank Kirsten James.

Kirsten has been Heal the Bay’s clean water watchdog for nearly a decade, most recently serving as our co-Science and Policy Director. During her tenure, beach water quality has steadily improved, with 93% of L.A. County beaches now getting A or B grades in our last annual report. Ever humble, she’d probably attribute the cleaner waters to drought and less urban runoff, but Kirsten and her team should take a lot of the credit.

Kirsten has now decided to take the next step in her professional career by exiting Heal the Bay to join the Boston-based nonprofit Ceres. She will develop a West Coast water program for the group, which catalyzes major industries to invest in sustainable practices.

Her years in the trenches of Southern California water policy will serve her new group well. Kirsten is a staunch defender of the federal Clean Water Act, standing strong in the face of many local challenges. She has played a pivotal role in ensuring that water quality standards are met in the region’s various water bodies and that dischargers are held accountable when they pollute our creeks, rivers and ocean.

It’s detail-oriented and somewhat tedious work at times—testifying at dozens of Regional Water Quality Control Board meetings held in stuffy conference rooms, poring over inches-thick technical permits written in legalese, and negotiating patiently with harried bureaucrats, skeptical dischargers and partner non-profits.

It takes a unique blend of personality and knowledge to be an effective advocate. Kirsten’s success has been built on a bedrock of traditional Midwestern values. As a native Missourian, she’s industrious, self-effacing and unfailingly polite. Think of her as the Girl Next Door—but with an encyclopedic grasp of arcane water quality regulations and a dogged determination to see them enforced.

When our longtime president Mark Gold transitioned to UCLA three years ago, Kirsten had huge shoes to fill in taking over Heal the Bay’s water portfolio. After years of apprenticing under the famed environmental warrior, she now was calling the shots on water strategy and policy. Slowly but surely, she found her own voice and style, leading us to some remarkable wins. Among her most recent accomplishments:

• Securing the adoption of a more holistic MS4 stormwater permit for the greater L.A. region, which requires municipalities to treat water as a resource to be reused and recycled.
• Playing a lead role in drafting and implementing plastic bag bans in the City and County of Los Angeles, which served as a model for the recently enacted statewide ban.
• Leading the legislative charge in Sacramento to reform Prop 218, making it easier for cities to secure public funding for multi-benefit water projects.

The Bay is healthier than it was a decade ago, thanks to Kirsten. So are the swimmers—and marine animals—who frolic in it. As the modest Kirsten attests, still waters run deep. Very deep.

As Kirsten transitions to her new job, we asked some of her key partners to share their thoughts about her impact.

“Kirsten’s sharp critical analysis and tireless advocacy has truly shaped water quality programs, initiatives, regulations and legislation throughout the region. Our Bay and region is in a much better place from a water quality perspective because of the work that Kirsten has done. Her legacy will be felt by generations to come.”

-Alix Hobbs, HtB president

“In all my years at Heal the Bay, no one wrote better technical comment letters than Kirsten. She was able to read the most complicated, technical, jargon-laced, draft regulations and develop clear, strong advocacy comments. Heal the Bay won on so many critical issues because of her analytical writing, and technical and policy skills.”

-Mark Gold, former HtB president  

“Kirsten has been my comrade-at-arms for a decade as we’ve fought the marine debris battle. She always writes what needs to be written (no matter how complicated), and shows up at every meeting. She has pounded the halls of Sacramento even into the wee hours of the morning. She has worked harder than anyone to ensure that the environment is protected, and she has done it with a smile on her face, and her friendly hello. From our 4 a.m. flights (always working the whole time), to my hoisting her over a wall to take clandestine pictures of a nurdle factory, from utter dismay when the first state bag ban bills failed (I remember she got physically ill once, and had to take a sick day), to our zany attempts at plastic fashion wear, we have shared so much, professionally and personally. She is an invaluable colleague, and a treasured friend.

-Leslie Tamminen, former HtB legislative director and consultant for Seventh Generation Advisors

“The Bureau greatly appreciates Kirsten for her tireless support of the organization, in particular the Watershed Protection Program I oversee. Working on stormwater issues with us, Kirsten is truly a champion of the environment in California and has helped protect the water resources in our entire region.

Shahram Kharaghani, division manager for the L.A. Bureau of Sanitation.

“From the volleyball court to the hearing room, Kirsten handles tough situations with precision and poise. I’m honored to have spent the last nine years working with her at Heal the Bay (and two years beforehand together at graduate school). She’s never met a water policy acronym that she can’t break down. Kirsten’s leadership has led to many water quality improvements throughout Southern California that will be felt for decades. We will all miss her.

Sarah Sikich, Kirsten’s co-director of science and policy

                                          Kirsten at a City Hall press event celebrating the plastic bag ban.

If you’ve enjoyed a day at Southern California beaches over the past 10 years, now is a good time to take a moment to thank Kirsten James.

Kirsten has been Heal the Bay’s lead watchdog for clean water for nearly a decade, most recently serving as our co-Science and Policy Director. During her tenure, beach water quality has steadily improved, with 93% of L.A. County beaches now getting A or B grades.  And while she may cite the drought and less runoff for the cleaner waters, Kirsten and her team can take a lot of the credit.

Kirsten has now decided to take the next step in her professional career by exiting Heal the Bay to  join the Boston-based nonprofit Ceres. She will develop a West Coast water program for the group, which catalyzes major industries to invest in sustainable practices.

Her years in the trenches of Southern California water policy will serve her new group well. Kirsten stands strong to protect the federal Clean Water Act locally in the face of many challenges. She has played a pivotal role in ensuring that water quality standards are met in the region’s various water bodies and that dischargers are held accountable when they pollute our creeks, rivers and ocean.

It’s tedious and repetitive work at times — testifying at dozens of Regional Water Quality Control Board meetings held in stuffy conference rooms, poring over inches-thick technical permits written in legalese, and negotiating patiently with harried bureaucrats, skeptical dischargers, and fellow non-profits.

It takes a unique blend of personality and knowledge to be an effective advocate. I think that Kirsten’s success has been built on a bedrock of traditional Midwestern values. As a native Missourian, she’s industrious, self-effacing and unfailingly polite. Think of her as the Girl Next Door – but with an encyclopedic grasp of arcane water quality regulations and a dogged determination to see them enforced.

When our longtime president Mark Gold transitioned to UCLA three years ago, Kirsten had huge shoes to fill in taking over Heal the Bay’s water portfolio. After years of apprenticing under the famed environmental warrior, she now was calling the shots on water strategy and policy. Slowly but surely, she found her own voice and style, leading us to some remarkable wins. Among her most recent accomplishments:

• Securing the adoption of a more holistic MS4 stormwater permit for the greater L.A. region, which requires municipalities to treat water as a resource to be reused and recycled.
• Playing a lead role in drafting and implementing plastic bag bans in the city and county of Los Angeles, which served as model for the recently enacted statewide ban.
• Leading the legislative charge in Sacramento to reform Prop 218, making it easier for cities to secure public funding for multi-benefit water projects.

The Bay is healthier than it was a decade ago, thanks to Kirsten. As are the swimmers who recreate in it. As the modest Kirsten attests, still waters run deep. Very deep.

Heal the Bay president Alix Hobbs and TreePeople CEO Andy Vought write that Prop 1 marks a new start for California’ s water future. But that future starts with you … today.

Nov. 11, 2014 — Last week marked a watershed moment for California, both literally and figuratively. After years of legislative gridlock and public indifference, voters agreed to start fixing our state’s broken water system. Though not perfect, Proposition 1, the just-approved $7.5 billion water bond, sets the stage for a more sustainable California.  

But we can’t afford to wait for funded projects to be built.

There’s much to be excited about in the approved measure. It includes investments in multi-benefit projects that harvest stormwater runoff instead of funneling it to sea. Instead of polluting our shorelines, stormwater will replenish our depleted groundwater.

In fact, urbanized areas of California have the potential to harness nearly half-a-million acre-feet of water via stormwater capture each year, according to a recent study by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Pacific Institute. That’s enough to meet the water needs of 1 million families for an entire year.

But it doesn’t help for water to be sent to aquifers if they are polluted. Fortunately, the bond also sets aside money to clean up existing groundwater supplies. Locally, that may help us rehabilitate contaminated aquifers in the San Fernando Valley. Bond funds have been set aside for watershed restoration projects that improve the natural cleansing function of the environment, which may prove a boon to the ongoing revitalization of the Los Angeles River.

Proposition 1 isn’t a cure-all for our water woes. Despite last weekend’s welcome downpour, extreme drought continues. We live in a dry climate, with the added stress of ongoing climate change. No amount of bond spending will change these dynamics.

The late Dorothy Green, Heal the Bay’s founding president and water warrior, recognized California’s challenge 30 years ago. We have enough water for the people and the environment, but without wise water management the well will soon run dry.  There will never be enough water to meet every need.  We need to start valuing every drop.

As we start to wean ourselves from costly and increasingly scarce imported water, we improve both our fiscal and environmental health. Transporting water to Los Angeles remains the single largest use of electricity in our state. Taxpayers pay millions in cleanup costs each year to deal with urban runoff, the primary source of pollution in our ocean and shorelines.

Happy as we are with the water bond’s passage, it won’t make a difference to our current drought. Projects will take years to implement, and we can’t afford to wait. Just as the bond passage is a watershed moment, our third year of drought is an historic event. And we can start addressing it today right in our own backyards.

By taking individual actions, we can achieve collective benefits immediately to our water supply and quality. Rainwater harvesting at the parcel level has huge potential.  A one-inch rainstorm in Los Angeles County sends some 10 billion gallons of polluted runoff into the stormdrain system. Every property in Los Angeles can capture rainwater and add to our local water supply, rather than having it shed from roofs and paved surfaces to the sea.

To spur this needed change in thinking, the City of Los Angeles and other local municipalities have adopted Low Impact Development policies, which require new and redevelopment projects to incorporate water-saving and water-harvesting components.

These actions can be simple and inexpensive. For example, Angelenos can hook up rain barrels or cisterns to their rain gutter downspouts. Tanks fill up quickly even in the lightest rainfall, providing “off the grid” water for irrigation. Simple landscape modifications such as contouring land to sink rainwater into swales and rain gardens, combined with climate-appropriate plants and trees, can dramatically reduce water use – in some cases by more than half.

Proposition 1’s passage marks a new era of water management.  But fighting the drought didn’t end at  the ballot box.  Small individual actions add up to big impacts, and are critical to creating a sustainable water future for California.  Local water agencies and nonprofits can show the way. Rebates abound.  We all need to go outside and assess where we can capture and save water to make it through this current drought – and California’s long-term drying trend.  

Let’s not waste this watershed moment.

This Op-Ed originally appeared in the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles News Group publications earlier this week.