NEWPORT BEACH : Upper Bay Study to Be Reviewed

The city’s Harbor Quality Committee today will review an independent study commissioned to project the effects of a proposal to empty 5 million gallons of reclaimed water a day into the Upper Bay during part of the year.

The committee, made up of seven residents and City Council members Jean Watt and Thomas Edwards, will also discuss hiring two more consultants to evaluate the Irvine Ranch Water District proposal. Before winning city support, the district must demonstrate that the Wetlands Water Supply Project would benefit the bay.

Although the water plan doesn’t require city approval, the district is seeking support before it certifies an environmental impact report that will go to the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, the agency that has final word on the proposal. So far, the district has postponed certification twice.

Critics say that the project would damage the bay’s ecosystem by releasing added nutrients into the water, which would increase the summertime algae.

“We don’t believe there’s a benefit from the wetlands project,” said Councilwoman Jean Watt, who is chairwoman of the committee.

The water district has been working with the city of Irvine on a project that would filter San Diego Creek water into ponds before it goes into the Upper Bay during the summer, said Watt, who met with Irvine city planners and water district officials Wednesday. The committee will meet at 3:30 p.m. in the Planning Department Conference Room, 3300 Newport Blvd.