Protecting the Coast

by Councilman Scott Peters
for the La Jolla Village News
October 2003

On September 20th, 250 volunteers joined my staff and me to clean up trash at Torrey Pines State Beach and the Los Penasquitos Lagoon. The event was part of the statewide California Coastal Clean-Up Day sponsored by the California Coastal Commission, of which I am a member. Volunteers at our site removed 1,330 pounds of trash and recyclable material from the beach and lagoon. The tremendous volunteer turnout is indicative of the value that beaches and coastal areas hold for all San Diegans. Protecting those resources and making sure that they are available to future generations is an important job that I take very seriously.

We are doing well on improving water quality and will continue our aggressive effort to reduce sewer spills and storm water pollution. Since 2000 sewer spills have been reduced by 58% and beach closures are down 45%. Our aggressive program of sewer cleaning, pipe replacement and sewer line televising is reaping huge returns. One of the biggest culprits in sewer spills continues to be households, so please remember to put the grease in the trash and not down the drain.

We have also enacted tough new enforcement measures for storm water pollution and are putting in devices at our beaches that will stop the most polluted runoff from reaching the beach. Next month the City will break ground on the first of 14 new locations for low-flow storm water diversion systems up and down the La Jolla coast. During dry weather, these devices divert water in the storm drains back to the sewer system for treatment. This water is typically the most polluted, and stopping it from reaching the beach provides a barrier against contamination. The systems also can divert sewer spills that enter the storm drain back to the sewer. The seven systems already in place have diverted 80% of the sewer spills in La Jolla away from the beach.

Protection of the coast goes beyond just water quality. Last year I worked with Project Pacific, Birch Aquarium and a researcher from Pepperdine University to make sure that our beach grooming procedures were not harmful to grunion. Grunion are a unique species of fish found only in Southern California and Baja. The health of these fish is an indicator of the health of the larger ecosystem. People had questioned whether our beach grooming was hurting the eggs they lay in the sand at high tide, so we put the question to the test. What we found was that the City could continue to groom the beaches without hurting the grunion as long as they followed special protocols during grunion spawning season. We also found that grunion populations in this part of Southern California are healthy and strong. To complete the study, hundreds of volunteer "grunion greeters" were trained by Project Pacific and the Birch Aquarium to count grunion. The involvement of so many people, many of whom had never been involved in conservation efforts before, served to energize a new group of people that will continue to be actively involved in preserving the coast and its resources.

Further north, we've made great strides protecting the Los Penasquitos Lagoon. Coastal lagoons like this one connect our rivers to our beaches and provide critical habitat for young fish and flora and fauna that make up the base of the food chain. One of the critical elements of keeping the lagoon healthy is continued tidal flushing. The inflow and outflow of seawater in the lagoon is akin to the inhaling and exhaling of air into your lungs. Constant tidal flushing replenishes nutrients and keeps the entire lagoon system healthy. The health of this lagoon will be improved through enhanced tidal flushing promoted by replacement of the old highway 101 bridge over the mouth of the lagoon, set to begin late this year. The current bridge has 72 pilings, which clog the mouth of the lagoon with sand, requiring heavy equipment to remove. Our new bridge will be built with only 4 pilings and engineered to promote tidal flushing.

Our coastal resources are part of what makes San Diego unique, and our quality of life is tied to maintaining a healthy relationship with the coast. Through enhanced infrastructure and conservation measures we will be able to enjoy these treasures for generations to come. Please think about the fragility of these areas when you drop a piece of trash or wash pollutants down a storm drain. Everything ends up downstream. I encourage everyone to learn more about these important ecosystem and pitch in to protect them. I look forward to seeing you all next year at California Coastal Clean-Up Day.