| |
 |
Excuse
me, what's in the Soup?
How safe is it to
surf the South Bay? |
|
El
Porto is located in an extremely industrial looking
area and most people naturally assume it to be
a highly polluted beach.The Hyperion plant is
just down the road, the Cheveron Refinery and
a host of harmful looking pipes and smokestacks
are only a stones throw away and there is a normally
submerged structure called the "shit pipe"
a scant 1/2 mile away. I myself conjured up images
of feces and oil and god knows what being pumped
into the line-up every day. In order to put these
nightmarish images to rest I sent Dan Cobbley
down to Heal the Bay to ask James Alamillo
(in charge of the Heal the Bay Report Card) a
few questions. Here's what he found out.
Where
does most of the harmful run off at El Porto
come from?
Most of the pollution to our nearshore waters
comes from urban (nuisance) runoff. This runoff
carries anything and everything (oil/grease,
trash, pesticides, food and fecal waste, and
yard waste) off the streets, parking lots, drive
ways, restaurants, yards, and rooftops.
Are
there any certain dangerous chemicals or bacteria
found in the water at Porto all the time? There
are chemicals and bacteria found in the water
most of the time, however, usually in trace
amounts that are not dangerous or harmful with
regards to acute illness (one-time exposure).
With regards to chemical/toxic pollution, the
chronic effects are not fully known, that is
how frequently does one need to go swimming
in the ocean (exposure) relative to the amount
of a substance being in the water. Heal the
Bay and the County of Los Angeles recommend
surfers and swimmers not to swim within a 100
yards of a flowing storm drain. This applies
primarily to those areas at 27th,
40th, and the Pier. The current water
quality monitoring program looks at three indicator
bacteria to determine the health of shoreline
water quality. Those 3 indicators are: total
coliform, fecal coliform and enterococcus. These
are not the "critters" that are likely
to make you sick, however, significant numbers
of these organisms indicate the possible presents
of harmful pathogens (critters that will make
you sick.
| |
 |
| |
How
much of a difference number wise does the rain
change the pollution?
By an order of magnitude.
For example, during dry weather one might typically
see enterococcus levels around 10. During a
rainstorm (wet weather) this number can jump
up to 100 or more.
What
adverse effects do these have on the human body?
Adverse health effects
associated with microbiological pollution can
include (but not limited to) stomach flu, ear
infection, sinus infections, or full body skin
rash.
How long does it really
take before this stuff is cleared out of the
water? The usual
recommended time to stay out of the water is
72 hours (3 days) after a sewage spill or rainstorm
event has ended.
Does
the bacterial rate in the water really lessen
after the first major rain. As to say, are we
more likely to catch some horrible bug during
the first rain as opposed to the second, third,
forth, etc.? This
really depends on the amount of time that has
passed between rainstorms. Since we live in
a highly urbanized setting, it does not take
very long for pollutants to build up in the
system.
Is
there any one local spot where the bacteria
levels are consistently rated higher?
Dry weather conditions in Los Angeles County,
Surfrider Beach and Will Rogers’ State
Beach at Santa Monica Canyon are typically the
two ocean beaches that continually have high
bacteria counts. As for enclosed bays, Mothers’
Beach, Avalon Bay, and Cabrillo Beach (harborside)
all tend to have high bacteria levels. Wet Weather
conditions tend to affect all beaches in the
Santa Monica Bay.
Which
spot has the lowest rated bacterial count for
say a year long study? Dry
weather, most of the South Bay beaches tend
to have great water quality (except Redondo
Beach Pier). Other stretches of beaches which
tend to have very good to excellent water quality
are Leo Carrillo to Corral Beach, Topanga State
Beach to Will Rogers State Beach at Temescal,
all the Venice City Beaches, and all locations
off the PV shelf.
Where
does Porto rate?
Porto rates very well compared to other beaches
in Los Angeles County.
How
much of the bacteria in the water can we blame
on the hyperion plant?
Very little to none. On top the shoreline monitoring
program that the City of the Los Angeles, Environmental
Monitoring Division implements, they also conducted
nearshore monitoring at a 30-foot depth contour
of the Bay. In the past, these monitoring locations
have always received an "A" during
dry weather and very good to excellent marks
during wet weather.
What's
the worst you've ever heard of as far as illness
occurring from a surf at El Porto?
I have not personally heard of any illnesses
related to El Porto compared to say Surfrider
or Herondo.
What
measures are you taking to ensure a safer more
user friendly ocean?
Heal the Bay has for the last 10 years published
a Beach Report Card to help beachgoers understand
water quality conditions at their favorite beaches.
Along with educating the public about local
water quality, Heal the Bay has been (and is)
the County coordinator for Coastal Cleanup Day
and Adopt-a-Beach program. Besides educating
the public and implementing beach cleanup programs,
Heal the Bay has pushed local public agencies
to increase dry weather diversion for those
storm drains that flow year round (e.g.- Herondo,
Pico/Kenter, Ashland Av.) There is a diversion
at the Manhattan Pier. There is currently a
discussion as to the need/ feasibility of diverting
27th. We will see what happens there.
Also, Heal the Bay continues to participate
in research projects that shed more light on
water quality issues affecting swimmers. For
example, Heal the Bay participated in the Santa
Monica Bay Restoration Project’s Health
Effects study of swimming in ocean water polluted
by urban runoff compared to swimming in ocean
water "not" polluted by urban runoff.
In the coming months we should be jointly putting
out a paper that looks at the plume coming out
of storm drains, rivers, and creeks and the
amount of area (beach) impacted by the plume.
Do
you see our water contamination problems improving?
Water quality has improved considerably in the
past 15 years. In the past, our biggest polluters
were from point source dischargers (Chevron,
Hyperion, and Southern Cal. Edison to name a
few). Today, those pollution sources are considerable
reduced, and now the largest source of pollution
to Santa Monica Bay is from urban/stormwater
runoff. We have come along way, but still have
some traveling to do.
How
much of the improvement can we thank Heal The
Bay for?
I couldn’t say.
What,
if any measures should the normal lazy surfer
like myself take to help?
Without having to physically work at something,
financial support of a local charity seems to
be a viable alternative. Simple things to be
done around the house are placing trash in its
proper place–the can. Reducing household
hazardous waste and properly disposing of it
(batteries, paints, thinners, and oil). Cleaning
up after you pet. Taking your car to a car wash
instead of washing it on the street. Call the
1-800-303-0003 for illegal dumpers (RV’s,
Restaurants, Construction sites).
Are
there any precautionary measures we should be
taking to ensure our own health but probably
don't?
Wear sunscreen, exercise, don’t smoke,
and read Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card.
If you need to get the grades for your local
beach, call 1-800-healbay or check out our website:
www.healthebay.org.
We
would like to thank Heal the Bay for their time
and encourage everyone to get involved in whatever
way they can, be it a donation of money or time.
It sounds like a BS cliché' but only
you can make a difference.
If you any other questions feel free to contact
James Alamillo at the e-mail below.
jalamillo@healthebay.org
Story
by Dan Cobbley
Click
here to get back to surf story page
