Plan to Pipe Runoff to Sea Draws Critics

A government proposal to solve Aliso Creek’s pollution problems by piping chemical-laden creek water 2 1/2 miles out at sea has come under fire from environmentalist and homeowners’ groups.

“We’re calling it a ‘contamination diversion’ project because that’s what it is,” said Mike Beanan, vice president for the South Laguna Civic Assn. “Their plan is to pump it into the outfall [pipe], letting it go in the ocean and not treating it at all.”

But county and water district officials say that contaminants flowing into the creek, which drains urban runoff for Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel and other communities, can be discharged safely into the ocean within permit guidelines for the Aliso Water Management Agency.

For years, Aliso Creek in south Laguna Beach has had chronic bacteria problems that have caused beach closures and complaints by swimmers and surfers of skin rashes and infections.

Runoff includes substances on streets that get washed down storm drains, such as motor oil, grease, antifreeze, brake lining asbestos, air pollutants that have settled on the ground, herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers and animal feces.

Under the proposed plan, Aliso management agency would build a berm lined with rubber and dam the creek about 300 feet inland of Coast Highway.

The creek’s daily summer flow of 4 million gallons would then be pumped into an underground pipe for 150 feet south of the creek and into Aliso’s outfall pipe, where it will be discharged at sea at a depth of 200 feet.

No environmental impact report is necessary, agency officials said, because during the dry summer months runoff can be discharged through the pipe and would be authorized by Aliso agency’s permit issued by the state’s Regional Water Quality Control Board.

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Cost of the system has been estimated at $500,000 initially for the design and construction of tanks, pumps and piping to divert the water, plus about $80,000 a year to operate the system.

A public hearing on the project has been set before the Laguna Beach Design Review Board on Feb. 15.

Last summer, county and Aliso Water Management Agency officials had agreed to conduct a two-week test in October by diverting the creek water. But because of delays, no test was conducted.

Instead, county and Aliso water officials have moved the test to May. And William Becker, Aliso’s general manager, says that instead of a test, the agency may begin the project permanently during the dry months.

The diversion plan is opposed by the civic association, which represents about 5,000 residents, and the Surfrider Foundation, a San Clemente-based national ocean preservation group.

The original plan had called for a test to evaluate the size of equipment needed and ensure that water quality at the outfall was within the agency’s permit guidelines, Becker said.

Ocean water near the pipe’s end offshore is regularly monitored and tested to ensure ocean water quality, under terms of the state permit, Becker said.

Once the test was finished, the agency would have analyzed its results and if no problems developed, water officials would continue with plans for diverting the creek for six months.

“I’d like to do a two-week test to evaluate,” Becker said, “but I don’t want to get a temporary permit after waiting all this time, and then go back and have to wait another eight months to get a permanent permit.”

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The project concept has received preliminary support from Laguna Beach, county officials and the state water board. Surfrider Foundation supports a test but is opposed to diverting water flow as a permanent solution to the creek’s pollution problems.

“Our major concern is whether they are going to use this temporary answer for a permanent solution,” said Michelle Kremer, an attorney and Surfrider’s environmental affairs director. “That doesn’t help residents who use the beach year-round. And, [the Aliso water agency] can’t use sand-berm technology all year because it would cause a flood there when it rains.”

For years, the county and Aliso water agency have been criticized for not providing a solution to the creek’s year-round pollution problems. During heavy winter storms, sewer systems often break down or wash large volumes of runoff to sea.

The proposal grew out of meetings chaired by Supervisor Marian Bergeson last year when it was decided the county’s Environmental Management Agency would develop a regional watershed plan for south Orange County and help alleviate the high coliform bacteria during the summer at Aliso Beach.

“This is viewed only as a demonstration project by the county,” said Larry Paul, the county’s manager of coastal facilities. “We want to use a low-tech, low-key approach for Aliso and see if it’s effective and blend it in as a possible [long-term] solution.”

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Aliso is an umbrella for seven waste and water districts serving mostly south Orange County, all of which use Aliso Creek for drainage.

In 1995, Aliso Beach was closed 24 days because of unauthorized discharge or sewage spills, the county’s Environmental Management Agency said. A portion of Orange County beaches were closed for a total of 122 days in 1995.

Becker said the agency’s proposal would be limited to summer, when the water stagnates near the creek’s mouth.

He said the agency wants to take advantage of the dry months to divert the creek’s flow as a potential solution to having polluted water come in contact with swimmers and pose a public health hazard.

The 12-mile creek, which starts near Cook’s Corner in Trabuco Canyon and travels southwest to the popular Aliso Beach, has carried increasing sewage spills and urban runoff that have reached the ocean, forcing frequent closures.

A special administrative hearing on the project was called by Kyle Butterwick, Laguna Beach community development director, and held last week in Laguna Beach. Representatives from the county’s Environmental Management Agency, Aliso water agency and half a dozen citizens, including Beanan, attended.

“It was pretty clear they wanted to get quick approval of this,” Beanan contended, “but we wanted full disclosure and a public hearing.”

There was a need for additional information from the county, Butterwick said.

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Beanan said he and other association members oppose the sand berm because they believe it would create a “toxic stew” of heavy metals and carcinogens.

“You have all the street pollutants running down that creek,” Beanan said. “It’s coming from upstream homes in Aliso Viejo all the way to Coto de Caza. People are dumping car oil, washing their dogs and allowing flea killer and weed killer to be washed into the stream. All that washes into Aliso Creek.

“All you’re doing is transferring our creek mouth problem out to sea 2 1/2 miles,” Beanan said. “This is our home and we want to swim in the ocean. This is important to our health.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Stream of Conscience In a move to reduce water pollution, the Aliso Water Management Agency proposes to divert Aliso Creek’s water to the agency’s outfall pipe, which discharges 2.5 miles at sea. How the process will work:

Water collects behind berm

Creek water and treated sewage discharged

Source: Aliso Water Management Agency; Researched by DAVID REYES / Los Angeles Times