The Hard Part in Water Cleanup

The cleanup of California waters is progressing much the way air pollution control has in the state: The easy stuff gets done first, the most difficult and costly is put off. The first big smog control efforts were aimed at developing cleaner-burning motor vehicles and controls on major industrial sites. Now, the effort is down to hard, big issues like diesel trucks and smaller sources including paint solvents, dry cleaners and even barbecue charcoal starter.

In similar fashion, we first had sewage treatment projects, then controls on waste discharges from industrial plants and other major sources of pollution. Now comes the hard part, the polluted runoff from “nonpoint” sources--streets, freeways, parking lots, construction sites and farmland, to name a few.

Approval of a California plan against nonpoint pollution was held up for four years because the state Water Resources Control Board and the California Coastal Commission failed to agree on the elements of an effective control program. But now the two agencies have reconciled their differences and the water board has adopted an ambitious 61-point program, to be implemented in stages over the next 15 years. The Coastal Commission is expected to ratify the plan next month. The program is of special importance to Southern California because this form of toxic runoff is a major cause of the closure of beaches to swimmers.

Significantly, the water board’s plan extends to the entire state and not just the coastal region as currently required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Officials said it makes sense to cover all of the state because much of what reaches the ocean originates in the inland mountains and foothills. Cleanup proposals would include purifying street and freeway runoff from storm sewers before it empties into the ocean and establishing catch basins to filter sediments from hillside runoff. The cost over the next decade, to be borne mainly by taxpayers and affected businesses, has been estimated at up to $14 billion. Some money could come from a water bond issue on the March 7 primary election ballot, and approval of the project by federal authorities would trigger an increase in aid available from Washington.

State officials are concerned about the reaction of developers to the new plan, which although voluntary to begin with could lead to sanctions for defiant polluters. Existing rules require builders to control runoff from specific projects. The new plan seeks to curb discharges on a broader basis to cover entire drainage areas and watersheds.

State Resources Secretary Mary Nichols did not exaggerate when she said approval of the program is “a great success.” The key now is to rally public and political support.