The Beach You Save May Be Your Own : Local governments--and local groups--need to help out

The long, hot summer has been with us officially for only a long and hot week and a half. As people flocked to Southern California beaches to seek relief from high temperatures and high entertainment costs, it was clear that the waterfront itself is under stress in these times of state, county and local budgetary shortfalls.

With the state balancing budgets on the backs of counties, some of the old waterfront relationships have been put to the test. But basically the answers to the problems of water safety and keeping beaches clean begin and end with us at the local level. It’s worth thinking about as we embark on a weekend that combines the fun of summer with our annual festive salute to the nation’s birthday.

Los Angeles County took over lifeguard operations in the mid-1970s from cities to promote efficiency and uniform waterfront safety standards. That was a terrific arrangement for everybody as long as the money was there. Now, however, L.A. County is trying to get some of the beach cities to contribute more money toward those services, with mixed results. There apparently has been some progress in these negotiations, but fiscal pressures are causing sticking points.

While some cities have been contributing their share, others have been stubborn, even in the face of threats that the county might pull out lifeguard and cleanup crews. All of this is complicated by a hodgepodge of arrangements for sharing revenue from parking facilities along the coast.

In Orange County, where the big beach cities actually provide their own lifeguards but are subsidized by the county, the county-town relationship is also being changed by fiscal circumstances. Orange County’s system is similar to what L.A. County had before the consolidation of lifeguard service. But though the two counties have evolved different ways of getting the job done, both are feeling the same budgetary strains. Orange County now is saying that its subsidy of $248,000 yearly to cities for lifeguards is in jeopardy; the situation is reminiscent of L.A. County’s suspension of its subsidy to Long Beach after Proposition 13 passed.

Everybody is under the gun, but the waterfront localities, many of which have evolved beyond their small-town status of the 1950s to actively promote tourism and benefit from it today, need to do their part to contribute from the bottom up. And there is a way in which not only local government but ordinary citizens can help. Most beach-goers can’t lend a hand in providing lifeguard service, which requires special training, but not much expertise is required in picking up after a day at the beach.

The environmental groups have been way ahead of the wave in organizing cleanups, monitoring water quality and even taking personal pledges to leave beaches cleaner than they were found by taking away, say, five items of trash. But too many visitors to the shoreline are appallingly cavalier about tossing their refuse to the wind and sand, opting out of that short walk to a trash bin. The waterfront is a fragile environment, dependent on all of us as individuals and as fellow travelers along the shoreline for its continued quality of being a special place.