Heal the Bay Blog

With some much-needed rain pelting the region, we pause to share some quick answers to commonly asked questions about rain and pollution. The storm will surely create a lot of waste—both in the form of trash on the beach and squandered opportunities to capture water in a time of drought.

I thought rain was a good thing. Why is Heal the Bay worried about it?

Yes, we desperately need rain in our drought-parched state. But rain creates urban runoff—the No. 1 source of pollution at our beaches and ocean.

How does rain create pollution?

Rimmed by foothills and mountains, Los Angeles County is like a giant concrete bowl tilted toward the sea. When it rains, water rushes along paved streets, picking up trash, fertilizer, metals, pet waste and automotive fluids before heading to the ocean via the region’s extensive stormdrain system.

Were stormdrains designed to trash the beach?

With memories of historical deluges on their minds, engineers designed L.A. County’s 2,800-mile stormdrain system in the ‘30s and ‘40s to prevent flooding first and foremost. Moving stormwater out to sea quickly was their top priority. But it also has the unintended function of moving trash and bacteria-laden runoff directly into the Santa Monica and San Pedro Bays, completely unchecked and untreated.

What is the economic impact of all that pollution?

People make nearly 50 million visits to Santa Monica Bay beaches each year. And the coastal economy in Los Angeles County generates more than $20 billion in goods and services each year. Polluted water and debris-laden beaches put these economic drivers at risk.

How much runoff results from a big rain?

An average one-inch storm will create about 10 billion gallons of runoff in L.A. County stormdrains. That’s 120 Rose Bowls’ worth of dirty water.

What is “stormwater capture” and why is Heal the Bay so excited about it?

The L.A. region now imports more than 80% of our water from Northern California and the Colorado River watershed, using enormous amounts of energy and capital to do so. In an era of permanent drought, we simply must do a better job of using the water we already have. We need to build innovative infrastructure projects that capture and reuse stormwater instead of sending it to senselessly pollute our seas. Runoff—if held, filtered and cleansed naturally in groundwater basins—can provide a safe source of water for human use.

What is the potential for reusing stormwater? How much water are we talking about?

A recent NRDC report found that capturing stormwater runoff for water supply across urban areas in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area could increase local water supplies by between 420,000 and 630,000 acre-feet per year, or roughly the same amount of water used by the entire City of Los Angeles on an annual basis.

What are examples of stormwater capture?

On a bigger scale, municipalities can develop multi-benefit wetlands, parks and open spaces that can capture and recharge groundwater supplies. Reclaimed stormwater can irrigate neighborhood parks, ball fields and school grounds instead of fouling rivers and beaches. On the individual lot level, property owners can equip homes with rain barrels and cisterns and redirect gutter flows into planter boxes. Under the County’s new stormwater regulations, new and redevelopment projects throughout the region are now required to retain the first ¾” of precipitation that fall on properties, instead of allowing it to run off into streets and ultimately the sea.

What does all this runoff to do the ocean and the animals that call it home?

Tens of thousands of marine animals die each year from ingesting trash or getting entangled in manmade debris. Seawater laden with chemicals and metals makes it harder for local marine life to thrive and reproduce.

What about the human health impacts?

Beachgoers who come in contact with polluted water face a much higher risk of contracting illnesses such as stomach flu, ear infections, upper respiratory infections and skin rashes. A UCLA epidemiology study found that swimmers are twice as likely to get sick from swimming in front of a flowing storm drain than from swimming in open water.

How can ocean lovers stay safe after a storm?

• Wait at least 72 hours before entering the water. Five days may be more appropriate at beaches near storm drains.
• Stay at least 100 yards away from storm drains, piers and enclosed beaches with poor circulation.
• Go to Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card to get the latest water quality grades and updates.

 What can I do in my daily life to reduce the impact of runoff-related pollution?

• Say NO to “convenience trash.” By purchasing fewer disposable goods, you’ll decrease the amount of plastic packaging and food wrappers that end up in the ocean. You’ll also save money!
• Dispose of trash properly. Keeping trash out of the street keeps trash out of the sea. Cigarette butts, fast food packaging and plastic bottles are the most frequently found items at our beach cleanups. And remember to pick up after your pet to keep bacteria out of our sea.
• Rip up your lawn. Nearly half of our water is used to care for our lawns. Not only is it a waste of water in an arid climate, it contributes to poor water quality due to pesticide and fertilizer runoff.
• Keep rainwater onsite. Many cities offer rebates to homeowners who install rain barrels or cisterns, which capture and infiltrate rainfall for later use around the home and garden.

How can I support Heal the Bay’s efforts to make L.A. smarter about stormwater?

• Come to a volunteer beach cleanup to spruce up a beach near you. Invite family and friends and win prizes!
• Follow us on social media to learn about our work and share information with your networks.
• Become a member. Your donation will underwrite volunteer cleanups, citizen science programs and lobbying and advocacy efforts by our science and policy team to develop more sustainable water policies throughout Southern California.

James Alamillo, Urban Programs Manager at Heal the Bay, says that this week’s big storm bring opportunities and dangers.

Dec. 2, 2014 — Almost a month to the day since our last rain, Angelenos are experiencing some consistent rainfall over the next two days. And unlike the last rainstorm, which was a one and done, this system is expected to generate an inch or two of precipitation throughout the week.

As we wrote in our blog last month on the first flush of the season, with rain comes runoff.

Rainwater runoff can be captured for future use, whether we are in a drought or not. The County of Los Angeles estimates that during a typical storm event upwards of 10 billion gallons of storm water flushes into the ocean. Letting this resource flow in large volumes to the ocean without catching it is shameful, especially when we import nearly 80% of our potable water. There is a significant energy, environmental, social, and economic cost with that approach that has been long neglected, even hidden. Storm water — if held, filtered and cleansed naturally in groundwater basins — could provide a safe, more secure and less costly source of drinking water. That 10 billion gallons of water from an average single storm in L.A. could fill nearly 120 Rose Bowls. That would provide enough water for a city the size of Santa Monica for more than three months.

The cost of runoff is the amount of pollution carried through our rivers, streams, creeks, and ultimately out to the ocean. In Los Angeles County alone, there are more than 70 major outfalls that spew trash, animal waste, pesticides, automotive fluids and human-gastrointestinal viruses into our county’s bodies of water. This ‘brew’ has been accumulating for months on sidewalks and roadways before being washed into the storm drains. The storm drain system is responsible for discharging this pollution into our rivers, creeks, and ocean. This causes potential human health risks, harms marine life and dampens the tourist economy by littering shorelines.

The County of Los Angeles’ Environmental Health Department  and Heal the Bay urge residents and visitors to avoid water contact at Los Angeles County beaches for at least 72 hours following rain event. In some locations and for long-duration rainstorms, staying out of the ocean for more than five days may be more appropriate.

Water literacy is a way of understanding the connections between the drought and imported drinking water, local storm water runoff and sewage, land-use and flooding, water quality and water use.  Rain provides an ideal opportunity to explore water literacy, particularly in the face of water scarcity. As individuals, we must reflect on our daily water consumption, our own ability to conserve and capture water, and evaluate with a critical eye the systems that handle water. So step out for a minute and let the rain hit you, let it revitalize your thoughts on water, and then let’s begin to learn how to use it more efficiently. 

Sad but true: the beach after heavy rain at the Pico Kenter storm drain

Photo by Frankie Orrala, Angler Outreach Program Manager, Heal the Bay

Last Thursday marked one of my two lowest days here at Heal the Bay working on local water quality regulations. After 11 hours of testimony and deliberation, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board unanimously voted to approve a municipal stormwater permit that essentially sets up a scheme of self-regulation (read: no regulation).

By no longer forcing cities that discharge millions of gallons of runoff into the stormdrain system to adhere to strict numeric pollution limits, the Board took a giant step backward in protecting water quality throughout Southern California. Under the newly adopted rules, cities just have to submit a plan for reducing stormwater pollution to the board and have it approved to be in compliance, rather than having to actually demonstrate they are not exceeding specific thresholds for specific pollutants, such as copper or E. coli bacteria.

For the curious, my other low moment came two summers ago, when the American Chemistry Council bought the vote on the single-use plastic bag ban in the California legislature, and as a result, our bill (AB 1998), died on the Senate floor on the last day of session.

The two days have many similarities – money as a driver, an atmosphere of misinformation and half-truths, short-term victory for the polluters and momentary defeat for all who use our region’s waters.

They say history is written by the winners. I don’t want to come off as a sore loser, but the truth is that meaningful regulation of stormwater is now woefully broken.

And why should anyone care? Well, for starters, urban runoff remains the No. 1 source of coastal pollution. Simply put, if we don’t deal with stormwater properly, we have no hopes of keeping our local beaches and oceans clean and healthy on an ongoing basis.

Cities in our region have been subject to storm water regulations for the past 22 years. For the past 12 years, cities have been compelled under their stormwater permit to ensure their runoff doesn’t cause or contribute to violations of pollution standards set out in state and federal water regulations.

Despite the ”regulation” of stormwater, not much has changed in the past 22 years. Just look at Heal the Bay’s water quality grades after a major storm. Dozens of beaches up and down the coast are swamped with polluted runoff and get failing grades for putting public health at risk.

If a kid continues to break the rules and is never grounded by his parents, why should he even think twice about the consequences of missing curfew?

In the recent debate, the Regional Board staff and the Board rightly recognized that the current permit wasn’t working. But instead of making the regulations more stringent, they adopted a loose scheme that won’t hold cities truly accountable for making sure they don’t spew polluted water into the ocean. The new regulatory framework just doesn’t make any sense, assuming the goal is to actually improve regional water quality as opposed to just saving money for the cities.

The main reason the Board vote marked such a personal low moment is not because we didn’t succeed in getting members to adopt enforceable numeric limits, although that is extremely discouraging as well as illegal under the federal Clean Water Act. Rather, it’s because staff and other stakeholders misrepresented the facts and themselves during the hearing. Having spent dozens of hours negotiating with them, I don’t make this claim lightly.

For example, when questioned by Board members directly about the loss of strict numeric limits, staff assured them that the new permit did in fact contain hard-and-fast thresholds. But they conveniently failed to mention that a holdover section of the permit that contains numeric limits would now be superseded by a new Watershed Management Plan section that allows cities to develop plans rather than adhere to strict pollution limits. If one section of the permit has numeric limits but can be overridden by another section, then there are NO LONGER POLLUTION LIMITS IN THE REGULATION!

Staff also reassured the board that the new permit contained 33 enforceable pollution limits in the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) section, but it failed to note that the previous permit required compliance with hundreds of hard limits for all waterbodies. Simple math tells you that this permit is weaker. And even these 33 TMDLs have significant loopholes. Cities get a free pass if water quality samples show repeated pollution exceedances, so long as they show they are making an effort to capture and infiltrate some – but not necessarily all – runoff.

The new permit has a few silver linings that are important to mention. The regulatory framework has strong Low Impact Development provisions. Also compliance with the dry-weather beach bacteria TMDLs (many up to six years overdue) is required. (Whether they will actually be enforced is anyone’s guess.)

If Heal the Bay, LA Waterkeeper and NRDC didn’t fight for a strong permit for the past two years, I’d really be scared to see how this new regulation would have turned out.

Thousands of ocean lovers joined our “Take LA By Storm” campaign and signed petitions or made their voices heard at board meetings. Unfortunately, their pleas for strong and enforceable limits were largely ignored by staff and the Board.

We’ve faced setbacks before at Heal the Bay, but we have faith that we will ultimately prevail. After all, we have the Clean Water Act on our side. Thursday’s vote is not the end of the road; it’s just detour in the ongoing journey for a healthy Bay. We’ll keep you posted on our next steps.

–– Kirsten James

Water Quality Director, Heal the Bay

Sign up for our Action Alerts to stay up to date on Heal the Bay’s campaigns, or follow us on Twitter for real-time updates with the hashtag #CleanWater.

Grassroots campaigns need your donations to stop the attack on clean water.