SAN DIEGO - The City of San Diego today debuted three Storm Water Pollution Prevention Public Service Announcements that ask residents to "Think Blue" and tune into a clean water message.

The emphasis of the "Think Blue" campaign is to educate San Diego residents, businesses and industry about storm water pollution, which accounts for approximately 70% of all beach postings and closures in the City and threatens the quality of living that San Diego is known for.

The noon-time event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Islandia Hotel on November 14 and will be kicked-off by Mayor Dick Murphy, Councilmembers Scott Peters, Byron Wear and Donna Frye and representatives of Caltrans and the Port of San Diego, who have joined together to fund the media campaign developed by the City's Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program. Local media stations have also contributed additional air time and news features to run throughout the campaign.

Mayor Dick Murphy, and Councilmembers Scott Peters, Byron Wear and Donna Frye unveiled three commercials at a noon-time kick-off event at the Hyatt Regency Islandia. Caltrans and the Port of San Diego helped fund the media campaign developed by the City's Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program.

"Never before has there been such a unified effort to educate the public about such an important environmental issue," said Mayor Dick Murphy. "Cleaning up our beaches and bays is goal #4 set by my administration and I am happy to say that we are coming together to help meet that challenge."

The Mayor added "people need to know that when it rains, pollutants like pet droppings and oil drippings get carried into the storm drains, to our bays, creeks, lagoons and beaches. Every one of us has an opportunity and a responsibility to do our part to preserve and protect San Diego's beaches and bays."

Councilmember Scott Peters, who co-chairs the Clean Water Task Force with the Mayor, said "these public service announcements are essential to our pollution prevention efforts. By giving people information, I believe that they will do the smart thing and Think Blue instead of contributing to the problem."

In conjunction with the kick-off event, the Storm Water Program is also launching its new website, which can be found at www.thinkbluesd.org. The site includes information about ways that people can help to prevent storm water pollution, educational resources for children and streaming video of the commercials and the City's general storm water pollution education video.

Storm Water pollution is regulated through the Federal Clean Water Act, which prohibits the discharge of any pollutants that impair waterways. The State and Regional Water Quality Control Boards mandate storm water pollution prevention programs through local permits and enforcement. The City of San Diego is currently in the first year of its new five-year permit.