Regional Board Delays Vote on Request to Dump Treated Waste Water Into Bay
The Regional Water Quality Board on Friday postponed a decision on whether to allow the Irvine Ranch Water District to discharge millions of gallons of treated waste water into the Upper Newport Bay.
Board members said they want to review the four hours of testimony they heard at Newport Beach City Hall before making a final decision on the project.
The hearing was ordered by Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert Thomas, who ruled last month that the board must determine whether the project would improve the water quality in the estuary. Such proof is required under state environmental laws.
In 1996, Irvine Ranch was granted permission by the water quality board to pump as many as five million gallons of reclaimed water into the bay for six months every year.
Some environmentalists and residents are opposing the water district’s plans. Scientists for Defend the Bay said the proposal could destroy the bay’s ecosystem by encouraging the growth of algae. They also have said the reclaimed water poses a threat to public health because it might contain bacteria.
Irvine Ranch representatives insisted that the treated water posed no harm to plants, animals or humans.
The board is scheduled to rule on Irvine Ranch’s proposal at its April 17 meeting.
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