Pumped out

Paul Clinton

Orange County CoastKeeper Garry Brown flipped the switch on Buck

Gully’s future Wednesday when he unveiled what environmental activists

hope will be the first step toward cleaning up pollution at the Corona

del Mar drainage channel.

Wearing one of his trademark Hawaiian-print shirts, Brown stood near a

pumping system in the creek that could dramatically reduce the flow of

urban runoff into the ocean off Little Corona Beach.

It’s only planned as a temporary fix while a group of concerned

environmentalists and officials sew up a more permanent solution.

“This is a Band-Aid approach,” Brown said. “This is what we want to do

in the interim.”

The pump and network of pipes that lay crosswise at the mouth of the

gully intercept and pump out water heading toward the beach.

That way, the pollutants in the runoff -- lawn pesticides, nitrates

and other harmful substances -- don’t enter the ocean.

The pump system was installed at a cost of about $35,000, Brown said.

It will suck about 112 gallons per minute out of the gully. About 150,000

gallons a day flow down the gully.

Brown needed to get permits from seven governmental agencies to begin

the diversion program, including Newport Beach and the California Coastal

Commission.

“The irony is if you want to solve the problem, it’s a mountain of

bureaucracy,” Brown said.

Efforts are already underway to permanently rehabilitate the gully.

Joining Brown in his efforts is Nancy Gardner, the founder of the

Newport Beach chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, and the city of

Newport Beach.

Gardner wrote the city’s grant application to the Santa Ana Regional

Water Quality Control Board for a slice of the state’s water-bond money.

Earlier this year, the city was awarded $227,000.

Gardner said she hoped owners of the palatial homes on the ridge above

Buck Gully realize that the elaborate landscaping and watering of their

estates adds to the problem.

“In the quest for the perfect lawn, they may not be thinking,” Gardner

said. “All this stuff you put on your lawn ends up in the ocean.”

* Paul Clinton covers the environment and John Wayne Airport. He may

be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7

[email protected] .