As Beach Closures Rise, So Do Health Concerns

As Lifeguard Capt. Steve Seim scans the surf for swimmers in trouble, he also scrutinizes the waves for a less apparent danger--unusual foams or sheens, telltale signs that the beach has been fouled by sewage or oil spill.

“We’re in the water every single day, so we have to be on the lookout for any problems and alert the public,” said Seim, who supervisors 130 lifeguards at Huntington City Beach. “The bottom line is, we don’t know what’s out there. We have to be careful.”

Raw sewage leaks have forced the closure of parts or all of six beaches in Orange County in the past month alone, with the ongoing shutdown of most of Bolsa Chica State Beach--traditionally one of the cleanest and most popular beaches--raising concerns about the health and safety of the county’s coastline.

According to data compiled by the county Environmental Health Division, beach closures are more frequent today than they were 10 years ago, and so are reports of sewage spills:

* So far this year, 15 beaches have been closed, compared with 22 in 1995, 17 in 1994 and four in 1986.

* Among the beaches shut down most frequently are Aliso Beach in Laguna Beach, closed nearly two dozen times over the past decade, and Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, with 10 closures since 1986.

Because of Orange County’s financial crisis caused by the 1994 bankruptcy, water-quality monitoring has been scaled back. Housing development inland has created more urban runoff, the unhealthy brew that carries a variety of pollutants through streams and storm drains into the ocean.

Yet, despite recurring problems, officials say the county’s beaches are safer and cleaner than most others around the nation.

Nancy J. Wheatley, director of technical services at the Orange County Sanitation Districts, notes that her agency does extensive video monitoring of its sewer lines to ensure there are no leaks or breaks.

“In general, except around storm drains and creeks, the beaches of Orange County are very clean,” Wheatley said.

“I have seen data that show that the Orange County beaches are probably among the safest in the country,” said Mark Adelson, environmental specialist at the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Health officials agree that Orange County’s beaches are generally safe, saying the increase in beach closures might be attributed to closer monitoring of water quality, or unusual weather patterns that can cause heavy storms that swell the creeks and storm drains that dump runoff into the ocean.

Heavy rainfall in early 1995, for instance, wreaked havoc with sewer systems and beaches, said Larry Honeybourne, water-quality chief at the Orange County Health Care Agency. Some officials believe that drought conditions in the late 1980s helped to keep runoff to a minimum. And the increased reports of sewage spills, they say, could be due in part to more stringent reporting requirements.

Health officials say that it is urban runoff that poses the greatest danger to the health of the county’s coastline.

“I’m always emphasizing that it’s the cumulative effect of thousands and thousands of buildings and miles of cement that contributes to water quality at the beach,” said Mark Massara, who heads coastal programs in California for the Sierra Club.

The county has posted signs at 14 creeks near where they empty into beaches, warning against swimming or wading. And urban runoff is considered a factor in the frequent closings at the Aliso and Doheny beaches.

Water testing along the coast confirms that levels of coliform bacteria, which is normally harmless but can signal the presence of disease-causing bacteria, can be sharply higher in creeks than in the ocean waters they feed.

For instance, regular testing this spring in Aliso Creek detected concentrations as high as 7,200 bacteria per 100 milliliters of water. But tests at the surf along Aliso Beach found much lower levels, usually well below 100 and in some cases less than 10.

Under the state Health Code, bacteria levels of 1,000 or above trigger a review of whether a beach should be closed.

Thus, water monitoring is seen by many as a critical line of defense in protecting swimmers’ health. When the county’s testing program was slashed in the wake of the 1994 bankruptcy, surfers and other beach-goers protested vehemently.

Before the bankruptcy, the county each week tested 120 spots along the coast and adjacent creeks as part of a county Health Care Agency program to protect recreational waters. But the much-praised, $164,000 program was halted as officials sought ways to slash the county budget.

County officials managed to put together a less expensive water monitoring program by forming an alliance of the county Environmental Management Agency, county sanitation districts, the sheriff’s Harbor Patrol and contributions from private organizations.

Today, the so-called “rescue program” involves testing at more than 80 locations. But some old testing spots have been dropped, including some creeks. And because of staffing cuts, the Health Care Agency has fewer people to analyze results and respond to spills.

The result, some environmentalists say, is a weakening of health officials’ surveillance power over recreational water quality.

Spurred on by those concerns, some surfing groups have chosen to do their own testing. Members of the Doheny Longboard Surfing Assn. take samples weekly at Doheny State Beach and process them in a home incubator. Kelly French of Laguna Beach, who reports the results at monthly board meetings, said that sometimes, “I feel like Dr. Doom. I’m up there saying the water’s unfit to be in there, so don’t go out there, there’s other places to surf.”

Southern California beach safety has come under harsher scrutiny since the release last month of a health study that draws a link between Santa Monica Bay storm drains and illness among swimmers, a link that experts say could have implications nationwide.

The study found an increase in such health problems as chills, ear discharges and vomiting among beach-goers who swam directly in front of storm drains.

The study confirmed the suspicions of surfers who have for years avoided the streams that feed onto the beaches and can form stagnant pools that they’ve nicknamed “polio ponds.”

Such pools attract children, offering warm shallow water where they can play--seemingly safely--away from the surging surf.

“One of the sad ironies of this whole thing is that the most concentrated, most polluted areas are those shallow areas where the youngest children play,” said the Sierra Club’s Massara.

Still, health officials say beach-goers should be safe, as long as they avoid those areas where creeks and storm drains feed into the ocean and pay attention to “no swimming” signs.

“The key point is, for the most part, Orange County beaches are safe,” said Adelson at the state water board.

Also contributing to this report was Times staff writer Rene Lynch.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Beach Closures

Reported raw sewage spills greater than 100,000 gallons since 1987.

Includes number of gallons spilled, dates closed and reason:

*

1. Dana Point-San Clemente

6 million to 8 million gallons

Jan. 18-Feb. 16, 1993

Sewer line severed in landslide

2. Laguna Beach

1 million gallons

May 23-25, 1988

Pump station failure

3. Seal Beach

1 million gallons

Oct. 31-Nov. 6, 1987

Broken sewer line in Fullerton, County Sanitation District

4. Aliso Beach

900,000 gallons

June 22-July 26, 1989

Main sewer line break

5. Doheny State Beach

500,000 gallons

July 7-13, 1988

Grease blockage in main sewer line

6. Fisherman’s Cove

300,000 gallons

Oct. 3-8, 1994

Sewer line blockage and break

7. Aliso Creek

250,000-300,000 gallons

May 23-25, 1996

Trabuco Canyon Water District pump station failure; Aliso Wastewater Management Agency spill

8. Huntington State Beach-Newport Pier

250,000 gallons

Jan. 17-24, 1990

Malfunction at County Sanitation District plant

9. Doheny State Park-Dana Point Harbor

200,000 gallons

March 7-15, 1995

Sewer line break in eroded embankment

10. Huntington State Beach-Newport Beach

116,000 gallons

Jan. 11-15, 1995

Storm water overload in Costa Mesa sewer line

11. Aliso Beach

100,000 gallons

Feb. 26-April 6, 1992

Break in sewer line

12. Doheny State Beach

100,000 gallons

Jan. 24-26, 1996

Pump station failure at waste water treatment plant

13. San Gabriel River jetty

100,000 gallons

Feb. 21-25, 1996

Storm water overload in Lynwood sewage line

14. Monarch Bay

220,000 gallons

Sept. 6-13, 1988

Southern California Edison power outage shut down pump station

Source: Orange County Health Care Agency; Researched by APRIL JACKSON/Los Angeles Times