Bacteria levels wane, except near river outlet

Andrew Edwards

Government numbers show ocean bacteria levels that spiked during

recent rainstorms have begun to fall to normal levels, with the

exception of the waters near the Santa Ana River mouth.

“Pretty much the whole area’s recovered, except for the area

around the Santa Ana River because Prado [Dam is] still discharging,”

Orange County Health Care Agency spokeswoman Monica Mazur said.

Prado Dam, west of Corona, is about 30 miles upstream from the

ocean. Water from the dam has flowed down the river channel to the

ocean since the January storms, picking up litter and debris along

the way, Mazur said.

As of March 3, the healthcare agency’s bacteria counts show an

excess of bacteria around the Santa Ana River mouth and in West

Newport around Orange Street. The healthcare agency measures three

classes of bacteria: coliform, fecal coliform and enterococci.

“They’re indicator bacteria. They indicate the possible presence

of disease-causing bacteria,” Mazur said.

March 3 numbers show that near the Santa Ana River, counts for all

three classes of bacteria exceeded standard concentrations. Around

Orange Street, greater than acceptable levels of fecal coliform and

enterococci were counted.

In addition to germs, storm water from the river brought tons of

larger waste materials to Newport Beach waters, and the city has

applied to the state’s Office of Emergency Services for grant money

to clean up the mess, general services director Dave Niederhaus said.

Niederhaus anticipated the city could receive between $200,000 and

$400,000 to clean up about 3,000 tons of wood and other debris

carried by storm flows. The trash will have to be carried to a

landfill that would charge $22 per ton for the disposal.

“That’s a pretty hefty number right there to take care of somebody

else’s trash,” Niederhaus said.

Niederhaus said the only way to reduce the amount of debris

carried by the river would be for upstream cities to do more

activities that could keep junk out of the channel, such as street

sweeping and cleaning drainage ditches.

Cities must make an effort to keep debris out of the water because

of the Clean Water Act, assistant city manager Dave Kiff said. Kiff

said cities in Orange and San Diego counties have the tightest

regulations in the country, and the rules will likely become stiffer

when reworked in 2007.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards

@latimes.com.