County May Begin Warning Public of Ocean Pollution After Sewage Spills

Moving to heed state law and protect public health, county administrators on Monday recommended that the county begin closely monitoring ocean pollution and posting signs on public beaches after major sewage spills.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors is expected to authorize money today to upgrade the environmental health program that in recent years has failed to inform the public when ocean waters are too polluted to enter.

“This is a start in the right direction,” said Supervisor John Flynn, who urged administrators to re-evaluate county practices. “When there is a sewage leak, there will be faster notification and an immediate posting of signs.”

He said he grew concerned about public health risks after an article in The Times pointed out that Ventura County is the only jurisdiction in Southern California that fails to post warnings during major sewage spills or other episodes of unsafe bacterial levels--as required by state law.

Supervisors Maggie Kildee, Frank Schillo and Judy Mikels indicated they would support the new $35,900 program in the midst of this week’s budget tightening. Supervisor Susan Lacey could not be reached for comment.

“It is something that needs to be done,” Mikels said. “I don’t think we can afford a full-blown testing program. I think this is a clever way to approach the program at a minimum cost to the county.”

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As proposed by Chief Administrator Officer Lin Koester, the county would react to sewage spills rather than launch its own regular seawater-testing program.

When sewer-line breaks or overflows are reported, the county would rely on lifeguards and sewage-treatment operators to post warning signs on beaches.

Then the county would begin testing ocean water to determine when bacteriological levels have fallen to safe levels so officials will know when to remove the signs. Under the plan, some county employees would get extra pay to be on-call around the clock in the event of a crisis.

Thomas Berg, director of the county’s Resource Management Agency, said the county can save money by working with agencies that patrol the beaches and treat sewage--a common practice of other Southern California counties.

He suggested that the county will be able to get a $4,000-a-year reimbursement from Sacramento by meeting the state mandate to post signs during bacterial contamination. And it will be able to charge about $18,000 a year to sewer districts responsible for spills. That diminishes the county’s net cost to $13,900.

“This is a little bit more money, but the benefits are great,” Berg said. “I’m pro-environment, but I’m cheap.”

In the written proposal, Koester made a distinction between the health risks associated with sewage spills and the unknown health impact of bacterial contamination from urban and rural runoff.

His proposal is to improve the county’s reaction to sewage mishaps but not concern itself with skyrocketing bacterial counts when rainstorms flush urban and rural pollutants out to sea.

The county may reassess that position, Berg said, after completion of a public health study on polluted urban runoff in the Santa Monica Bay.

The Surfrider Foundation, a coastal protection group, had a mixed reaction to the proposal.

“It certainly sounds like a step in the right direction,” said Bruce McDonald, immediate past president of the Surfrider’s Ventura County chapter. “But I don’t think it goes far enough.”

He said the coastal protection group wants the county to do regular testing of ocean water along beaches so swimmers, surfers and others will know when the water is unfit for body contact.

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The county used to test for bacteria at 20 spots along the county’s coastline. But that program was killed during the budget cutting after the passage of Proposition 13.

Koester made it clear Monday that his proposal was not a reinstatement of the county’s comprehensive ocean-monitoring program.

Surfrider launched its own independent testing program three years ago out of frustration with local government inaction. Glen Kent, who runs the testing operation, said he was disappointed with the county’s proposal, particularly the decision to ignore the problems association with urban runoff.

“It appears to be more public relations than public service,” he said. “It’s a fact that urban runoff often carries human waste.”