Clean Beaches and Bays

Clean Water Accomplishments

Sewer Spill Reduction:
Through an aggressive program of sewer pipe cleaning and replacement sewer spills have been reduced 60% since 2000.

Beach Posting & Closure Reduction:
Beach postings and closures are down 61% since 2000.

Clean Water Task Force - Councilman Peters worked with the Mayor as Co-Chair of the City's Clean Water Task Force. The Task Force is made up of elected officials from the City and County of San Diego as well as representatives of business, academic, environmental, and regulatory organizations. Their task is to develop long term solutions to water quality problems. The Task Force has focused this year on developing strategies that will cut beach closures and postings by 50% by 2004, and cut sewer spills by 25% in the next four years. By having all of the interest groups represented at the table, effective strategies with the buy in of all interested parties can be developed.

Funding for Water Quality Projects - Councilman Scott Peters, working with Mayor Murphy, City Staff, the Clean Water Task Force, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Governor and State Legislature, has developed funding for $10 million in water quality projects around San Diego. These projects include: Mission Bay Source Identification Survey, Mission Bay Water Quality Study, Mission Bay Dry Weather Bacterial Source Testing, Mission Bay Human Pathogenic Virus and Epidemiology Combined Study, Mission Bay Contaminant Dispersion Study, San Diego River Mouth (Dog Beach) Bacteria Source Study, Storm Water Public Awareness Campaign, Rose & Tecolote Creeks Water Quality Improvements, and San Diego River Restoration Project.

Increased Storm Water Pollution Prevention Budget - Councilman Peters pushed for an increase in the budget for the City's Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program to increase pollution enforcement and fund strategies to keep storm water pollution from reaching public beaches. The City Council tripled the budget for storm water pollution prevention in the fiscal year 2002 budget.

Storm Water Action Team (SWAT) Program - Reacting to a memo from Councilman Scott Peters about impacts to wetlands from sediment run-off from construction sites, City staff developed the Storm Water Action Team to increase enforcement actions against construction sites who fail to stop sediments from running off their projects. The SWAT program takes existing City enforcement personnel who would usually catch up on paper work on rainy days, and puts them under the control of the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program to monitor construction sites and enforce storm water pollution regulations. The reallocation of staff has increased enforcement with no increase in the City budget.

Accelerated Sewer Pipe Replacement and Sewer Spill Prevention Strategies - Councilman Scott Peters led the charge for a program that will triple the amount of sewer pipeline replaced each year from 20 to 60 miles each year to prevent future sewer spills. The effort will also include cleaning all 3,000 miles of sewer lines in the next 4 years, and televising 1,000 miles of sewer lines to prioritize the pipeline replacement so that we stop potential sewer spills before they happen.

State Funds for Clean Water in San Diego - Councilmember Peters met with members of Governor Gray Davis' staff and members of the State Legislature to lobby for increased state funding for water quality projects in San Diego. Councilman Peters was successful in helping to secure $3.9 million for projects in Mission Bay, Rose Creek, Tecolote Creek, and the San Diego River. These projects will help the City meet its goal of cutting beach closures by 50% by 2004.