O Equals Cleaner H20

Few homeowners relish replacing their roofs. That costly project hardly brings the same rush as a new big-screen TV or a remodeled kitchen. But come the rains, homeowners who put off fixing the roof face buckets in the living room.

Think of Measure O in the same way -- unexciting, expensive, necessary. The city bond measure would fund hundreds of projects to clean up polluted beaches and rivers, safeguard and recharge local groundwater, upgrade the city’s overtaxed flood-control systems and increase green space.

The $500-million measure will need a two-thirds majority to pass. The cost, along with the drafters’ decision not to identify the specific projects, initially made us wary. The broad coalition behind Measure O, and the serious pollution this money would help curb prompt us now to recommend a “yes” vote.

Each time it rains, foam coffee cups and plastic bags wash into storm drains, piling hills of trash on local beaches. Dog droppings, metal residues and the oily film that cars leave on streets foul groundwater and prompt repeated beach closings. The federal Clean Water Act requires Los Angeles and other localities to check this disease-causing pollution or face stiff fines beginning in 2014.

Measure O would pay for upgraded storm drains, catch basins and trash grates to better hold debris and prevent street flooding. Cisterns and more green strips around parking lots and in urban neighborhoods would hold runoff. Every street, parking lot and storm drain collects trash, bacteria and pollutants. The “fixes” need to be diverse. Describing each project upfront would limit the use of rapidly improving pollution-control technology.

Voters may also worry about how such a big pot would be ladled out. The city’s Public Works Department would take the lead on construction. It has an impressive record in spending recent voter-approved bond funds to rebuild city libraries and upgrade sewers. Still, spending money from a bond measure of this size for a task so complex would require extra vigilance from every city official.

There is no official opposition to Measure O. Supporters include Mayor James K. Hahn, every City Council member, the Chamber of Commerce and an array of environmental and neighborhood groups. We join them in recommending a “yes” vote.