A local environmental group maps 342 drains, finding the point sources of pollution in the Santa Monica Bay.
By Carolanne Sudderth/Special to The Malibu Times
Two local conduits achieved notoriety recently when Santa Monica Baykeeper released its storm drain report. Malibu outlets at Paradise Cove and in the Escondido Beach area were named in the “Dirty Dozen”–12 drains that have exceeded state health standards for both E. coli and coliform in at least four out of six snapshot sampling events.
Other offenders are located at Will Rogers Beach and at the end of Rose Avenue in Venice.
“I think that everybody here knows that the bay has water quality problems,” said Steve Fleischli, executive director of the Santa Monica Baykeeper.
The report will blaze trails for regional water quality management, said David Beckman, senior attorney for the National Regional Defense Council. He described the report as “a litany of water quality violations that affect health and marine life.”
“It’s really an indictment of the city’s attempt to control pollution,” said Beckman.
Municipal authorities have been unwilling to collect information on contamination, and regional authorities have been unable to do so, said Fleischli. The report provides a recipe where a detailed investigation could begin.
Once every three months, 70 volunteers walked 46 miles of Santa Monica Bay between Palos Verde and Malibu Point, walking the beach one mile at a time, collecting samples, and mapping the number of drains and outlets. The samples they collected form a “snapshot” of the bay at a given point in time.
The idea is to locate and eliminate point sources of pollution.
All 342 storm drains in the Santa Monica Bay have been documented–using photographs and satellite technology.
“We need to go back up into the watersheds and find out who’s dumping and hold these people accountable,” said Fleischli.
Three-quarters of the drains exceed standards for contact recreation by 50 percent and most of the effluvium collects in the surf zone. Contaminants include heavy metals–lead, zinc, copper and mercury–as well as bacterial pollution, some of which comes from raw sewage spills. Most of the pollution, however, comes from runoff from streets, gutters and lawns. Of samples collected, 50 exceeded standards for acute toxicity.
Only 70 to 80 of the drains are flowing at any given time–but that’s more than enough to have an effect on the bay.
“Just because it does not flow to the beach doesn’t mean it’s not a hazard, because many times, children and families will play in the drains,” said Fleischli.
The acute effect on wildlife is death. On a chronic level, pollutants affect the growth of algae– the base of the food pyramid on which all animal life is built.
And then there’s the grease. A surfeit of grease can cause a drain to back up. Very large kitchens can clog very large drains. Forty percent of all sewage spills occur because of grease blockages. The slop backs up and oozes out from beneath manhole covers. (Others are due to cracked and aging sewer pipes.)
The source of the grease is local restaurants, said Fleischli.
The number of backups is particularly noteworthy in Pacific Palisades, Fleischli said. “And it’s in a fairly remote location, so the city’s not always going to be on top of it when it does break.”
In addition to health effects, pollution affects the local economy to the tune of “billions and billions of dollars.” Santa Monica Bay beaches are sought out by 45 million visitors annually, said Fleischli.