Washing cars. Watering lawns. Fertilizing gardens.
Sweeping sidewalks. Every day, someone in the
Santa Monica Bay area does one of these common
chores around the house. Most of the water used
to do some of these tasks runs down the driveway
and into the gutter ends up in the storm drains.
Unlike the sewer system connected to our toilets,
storm drains don’t go to the sewage treatment
plant. They flow to our beaches, depositing the
water with all of the oils, pesticides, detergents,
fertilizers, and trash it collects along the way
straight into the oceans or into pools of dirty
water at the mouth of the drain that small children
often play in.
The result is that we end up surfing, swimming,
fishing, and boating in the same stuff that we
thought we were getting rid of.
According to local agency data, thousands of gallons
of liquid go down the storm drains each day during
dry conditions. When it rains, as hundreds of
thousands of gallons rush through the storm drains
to the ocean.
New Technology Helps Keep the Bay Clean
Fortunately, recent state funding pays for the
installation of stormwater diversion systems.
Simply put, these units connect the storm drains
to the sewer systems, so that those oils, fertilizers,
and other discarded materials we wash down our
driveways are treated at the sewage plant and
clean water is discharged to the ocean.
But, these systems only work during dry weather
days. When it rains, the additional volume of
water rushing through the storm drains would overload
the diversion units and harm the sewage treatment
system. To avoid sewage backups into homes on
rainy days, the storm drains are simply allowed
to flow straight to the ocean untreated.
According to Mark Gold, Executive Director of
Heal The Bay, the dry weather diversion systems
have dramatically improved the ocean water quality
in the Santa Monica Bay in recent years. “Beaches
formerly receiving ‘Ds’ and ‘Fs’
are now receiving ‘As’ and ‘Bs’,
says Gold. “While we haven’t solved
the problem at some beaches, others such as those
in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and state beaches
farther north are much cleaner due to dry weather
diversions. But, during rainy days, we still see
high levels of harmful bacteria and chemicals
flow to the ocean.” How to Help Keep the Bay Clean
How can we help? Proper disposal of trash, reducing
the use of pesticides and fertilizers, picking
up after our pets, and washing our cars at locations
with special catch basins can vastly improve the
water quality in our ocean. This will help ensure
that it is safe for us to continue to swim, surf
and play at the beach.
For more information, go to http://www.smbaykeeper.org
http://www.santamonicabay.org
, http://www.lapublichealth.org/beach/,
or http://www.healthebay.org
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