Avalon Launches Program to Trace Harbor Polluters

High bacteria counts in Avalon Harbor have led city and county health officials to launch an attack against water pollution by cracking down on potential sources of contamination from private and commercial boats, and from the city’s own sewage system.

The costly program of widespread anti-pollution measures is aimed at visiting boaters who dock in the harbor and at island residents with homes or businesses within 50 yards of the beachfront, said City Manager John Longley.

“It’s a priority at this point because it goes to the heart of our tourist economy,” he said.

The measures include issuing dye tablets to boaters and beachfront business owners who must place the tablets in their toilets. The dye leaves tell-tale stains in the waste water, which, though harmless to sea life, would lead health officials to pollution sources, Longley said.

$500 Fine

The city is fining polluters $500 per violation. The City Council will consider passing an emergency ordinance Tuesday that would ban boats that discharge sewage from re-entering the harbor for a year, said Mayor Hugh T. (Bud) Smith.

The restrictions come in the wake of a sewage leak last June, when an overloaded pumping station near the Casino Ballroom spilled 3,000 gallons of raw sewage into the harbor.

At the time, County Department of Environmental Health Services officials closed the beach at Avalon Harbor for nearly a week, allowing it to reopen only after the count of coliform bacteria returned to an acceptable level.

Continued testing of the water by the county, however, showed that although the water is safe for swimming, the bacteria count is higher than normal, said Thomas Barnett, a county environmental health services manager.

“There remained an unidentified but higher-than-expected level of bacteria counts, and it really didn’t appear to be from a single source,” Barnett said. But he said the suspected source is human waste.

Last month, the city and the county began conducting separate tests of the bacteria count in the water. The beaches have remained opened throughout the testing.

The county tests, which are done along the beach in the harbor area, consist of water samples taken weekly and measured for levels of the bacteria coliform and enterococcus, Barnett said. County workers are also checking for “misdirected sewage” from older sewage lines, broken lines and illegally connected lines, he said.

The city is doing its own testing, covering Lovers’ Cove, Descanso Beach, and along the pier and throughout the harbor, Longley said.

Boaters are issued leaflets warning against discharging sewage into the harbor, and warnings are also being broadcast on the Coast Guard radio frequency, Longley said.

Measures taken by the city include:

Issuing sewage system dye tablets to boats docked in Avalon Harbor, including cruise ships. The tablets produce a bright red stain in the water near the boat if sewage is discharged into the harbor.

Putting red dye tablets in residential and business sewage systems within 50 yards of the harbor that would indicate sources of the pollution.

Hiring a full-time sanitation officer to inspect boats in the harbor for compliance with the new requirements.

Blocking and re-routing storm drains to prevent them from emptying into the harbor.

The tests are costing the city as much as $1,500 a day, and the long-term costs for rerouting the storm drains could run into “hundreds of thousands” of dollars, Longley said.

Smith said the testing will be “an ongoing thing until we can positively identify the generator of the occasional high counts we’re getting.”

So far, at least three boaters have been charged with illegally dumping sewage and face $500 fines, he said.

“We’ve always been famous for our clear, pristine waters, and we want to keep it that way,” Smith said. “This is our front door.”