Clean water in future probably no pipe dream

The annual Heal the Bay Beach Report Card, now in its 15th year,

provided the usual sobering account of the cleanliness of our

beaches. For the most part, the results were good, suggesting that

continued vigilance by city leaders -- and their efforts to get

inland communities to reduce their polluting -- is making our beaches

and water cleaner and safer.

Newport had three failing beaches, according to the report

released late last month -- Harbor Patrol Beach, 43rd Street Beach

and 38th Street Beach. Harbor Patrol Beach and 43rd Street Beach

earned D grades on dry days and F grades on wet days. Heal the Bay

gave 38th Street Beach a C grade during dry weather and an F at rainy

times.

It was when it rained that our beaches went -- one can suppose

literally -- into the toilet. Beaches from West Newport to Crystal

Cove turned from clean when the sun shines to polluted after rains.

It’s what we all know: After it rains, you have to stay out of the

water. The question now is: What are city leaders going to do with

this information?

Our suggestion is to use as their blueprint the success they’ve

had with keeping the beaches clean during drier weather. By targeting

businesses, working with inland cities and raising awareness among

residents, spills and other anomalies seem to be less and less

frequent. Our water, in general, is cleaner.

Without letting up on these efforts, now the test is handling the

heavy flows of water on rainy days. More natural treatment via

wetlands, which has shown promise, ought to be part of the solution.

Finding money to pay for expensive treatment of storm water should be

a priority. Discovering effective ways to contain storm water will

have to play a role.

What is encouraging is the improvement we’ve seen already. It

suggests that a promise of clean water in our future is no pipe

dream.