Scientists Say Pico-Kenter Drain Is Clean : Environment: Water in the befouled storm runoff channel is now being treated at a sewage plant. Heal the Bay says the ocean nearby is safe again.

It’s safe to go back in the water again.

To prove the point, a Heal the Bay scientist plunged into the surf at the mouth of the Pico-Kenter storm drain on a perfect beach day Thursday.

The swim was the finale of a celebration of the reopening of the ocean near a storm drain notorious for spewing filth into the sea.

“Today is a day of victory and celebration,” said Adi Liberman, executive director of Heal the Bay. “The message of the day is quite simple: It’s not too late for Santa Monica Bay.”

The celebration was possible because, except during rainstorms, the befouled water is now being diverted from the storm drain to the Hyperion sewage plant where it is treated before it is released into the Pacific Ocean.

The diversion is a joint effort of Los Angeles County and the cities of Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

The success of the cleanup effort comes none too soon. About a week ago, the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project announced the results of an earlier study that detected viruses confirming the presence of human feces in the water near the Pico-Kenter drain, as well as in two other Santa Monica Bay locations. Water from the drain has been directed to the Hyperion plant only since Memorial Day.

At a news conference on the sand at the end of Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and Santa Monica Mayor Ken Genser knocked down the signs that for almost two years have warned swimmers that it was unsafe to swim near the drain that carried contaminant-filled urban runoff into the sea. Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter and former Santa Monica Mayor Judy Abdo, who initiated the diversion project that made the reopening possible, also were on hand.

The diversion is a temporary measure, possible because water conservation in the region has made space available at Hyperion. Ultimately, Santa Monica will build a reclamation plant to deal with waste water, known as urban runoff.

Urban runoff is the term given to everything that goes down the storm drains.

Abdo said she recalled the day in December, 1990, when representatives of a surfers’ group, the Free Pacific Assn., and from Heal the Bay came into her office and asked her to either clean up the Pico-Kenter storm drain or put a plug in it. She took them up on it.

In 1990, the water near the mouth of the drain was failing Heal the Bay’s safety tests with a grade of “F.”

On Thursday, the water made the honor roll.