Sewage study inconclusive, scientists say

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT BEACH -- The Orange County Sanitation District still cannot

pinpoint the exact cause of bacterial contamination on the Newport Beach

and Huntington Beach coastline, even after a $5.1-million study.

At a special district board meeting Wednesday evening, a panel of

scientists who took ocean water samples during the summer last year said

the district’s sewage plume could not be pinpointed as the primary

culprit.

“The contamination problem is complex,” said District Technical

Services Director Bob Ghirelli. “It’s made up of multiple sources that

all contribute to the problem.”

Ghirelli, and several of the scientists hired by the district to

complete the study, said the plume isn’t the sole cause of high-bacteria

readings at the Newport Pier and surf zone contamination in Huntington

Beach.

The district pumps 240 million gallons a day out of an outfall pipe on

the ocean floor. The pipe releases the treated sewage about 4 1/2 miles

out to sea.

During the study, the team of scientists collected samples of water at

both the shoreline and at offshore testing stations.

The inconclusive report failed to convince environmentalists who have

been calling for more comprehensive treatment of the released sewage that

the plume should be taken off the hook.

Bob Caustin, who founded Defend the Bay to help clean up Upper Newport

Bay, said the district was “in denial” about its role in contaminating

Orange County’s recreational waters.

“They got the answer they wanted,” Caustin said about the study. “No

answer.”

Caustin and other environmentalists have led the charge against the

district’s federal waiver granted by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The waiver allows the district to dump sewage not treated to the

standards set out by the Clean Water Act of 1972. The waiver was first

granted in 1985 and renewed in 1998. It will be up for renewal again

later this year.

During Wednesday’s four-hour session, a string of scientists who

collected data mapped out preliminary results of what they found. The

final report will be released in October.

The team of scientists studied summer weather conditions under a

“worst-case scenario” to view contamination at its highest levels,

district spokeswoman Lisa Murphy said.

The scientists mapped out a “Newport Canyon Hypothesis,” in which

sewage from the plume could travel toward shore in an underwater channel

and head north about a half-mile offshore to contaminate Huntington

Beach.

Caustin dismissed the theory as creative thinking.

But the scientists said their data shows that bacteria contamination

further offshore is not traveling to the shoreline.

Some officials questioned the purpose of the study.

“What we know now is less than we knew going in there,” Newport Beach

Mayor Tod Ridgeway said. “I left last night shaking my head.”

After receiving the comprehensive study on Wednesday, the district

must now decide whether to continue its operations status quo or increase

treatment of the sewage.

One option on the table is to disinfect the sewage with

industrial-strength bleach. That would kill the bacteria but not the

viruses.

At a June 26 meeting, the district will consider other treatment

options. The cost of stepping up treatment to what is known as “full

secondary” -- which renders the treated water clear -- is about $400

million.

Ridgeway said he didn’t necessarily support that costly method. He

said he did support bleaching the sewage, which costs about $5 million

per year.

* Paul Clinton covers the environment, John Wayne Airport and

politics. He may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7

[email protected] .