Council wants water tested

The Newport Beach City Council shelved a resolution Tuesday night to provide seed money for cleanup of Newport Harbor after council members decided more research needs to be done on how much dredging the sediment-clogged water way would cost.

Some areas of the harbor show high levels of mercury and pollutants found in common pesticides, upping the potential cost of the project.

“Before we consider the city or its citizens stepping out on this problem, we need to get an estimate of the size of this problem so we know what the total size of it is,” said Councilman Mike Henn.

The council was scheduled to vote on a resolution that would provide an undetermined amount of funding for the project in “any fiscal year,” but the proposal was shelved in favor of doing more scientific testing on pollutants in the water.

The council also voted Tuesday night to approve a $100,000 supplemental budget request to fund testing and consultation for dredging Newport Harbor. The money would be used for water quality testing, among other issues.

Officials have talked of eventually plunking down anywhere from $2 million to $4 million in city money as matching funding to spark a federal clean-up of the lower part of Newport Bay.

The city also could use the money to clean out the worst areas of the harbor — some of which have never been dredged, said Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff.

The longer the city waits, the more the project is likely to cost, Kiff said.

“If you continue to see fuel costs rise, you will see costs creep up and eventually leap up,” he said. “Of course, the cost will go up the longer you wait.”

City officials also are awaiting the results of a study conducted by UCLA professors on user fees for Newport Harbor. Dredging the harbor could be funded by raising fees for users on some services for using the harbor.

Thoroughly dredging the harbor could cost anywhere from $12 million to $14 million, according to city estimates.

Newport Harbor hasn’t been thoroughly dredged in more than 70 years.

Boaters complain of running aground, and an estimated 900,000 cubic yards of sediment need to be removed.

As part of this year’s budgeting process, the Newport Beach Planning Commission recommended the City Council hold off making cleaning the lower harbor a priority until the city’s next planning period.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].