Dam, Pumping of Polluted Water to Sea Tentatively OKd

A proposal to build a small dam and pump polluted Aliso Creek water out to sea was approved tentatively on Thursday.

The city’s design review board voted 3 to 2 to allow the Aliso Water Management Agency and the county to build a berm and collect water 300 feet upstream of Pacific Coast Highway, near Aliso Beach. The water would be pumped into an underground pipe and sent 2 1/2 miles out to sea, at a depth of 200 feet.

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

The 12-mile creek, which starts near Cook’s Corner in Trabuco Canyon and travels southwest to Aliso Beach, carries whatever runs off streets and down storm drains. That includes motor oil, grease, antifreeze, air pollutants that have settled on the ground, herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers and animal feces.

Robert Chapman, the board’s chairman, said the pumping plan was approved with several conditions that include use of an electric rather than a diesel pump to reduce noise. The board also required the water agency and the county to receive a commitment from agencies upstream to find a long-term solution to the problem.

The agency sought approval for a two- or three-week test to evaluate equipment needed and ensure that pollution at the outfall doesn’t exceed permitted levels. The board approved that idea provided the agency first provides a detailed plan for testing chemical substances in the water.