Study targets pollutants

A local water-quality advocacy group, Orange County Coastkeeper, is suggesting two Huntington Beach waterways be added to a list of those that are considered polluted and in need of cleanup.

After a two-year study, Coastkeeper recommended in February that water officials put the Bolsa Chica and Wintersberg channels, as well as two channels in Newport Beach and several others in Orange County, on a list of polluted waterways.

The study looked for excessive amounts of nutrients that cause algae blooms and bacteria that could be a threat to people using the waterways.

Putting a body of water on the impaired list tells cities and counties responsible for the waterways that getting it cleaned up is a priority, said Ray Hiemstra, Coastkeeper’s associate director of projects.

“This is the first real notice to these cities and the county that there’s a real problem that has to be paid attention to and there’s real data to back it up,” he said.

“It’s not just a useless thing [where] we’re just making somebody look bad and nothing’s ever going to happen.”

After waterways are listed as polluted, the state creates and enforces standards designed to limit its pollutants.

The Coastkeeper study was requested by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, which will consider what to add to the list and take public input before the State Water Resources Control Board makes a final decision this fall.