Wave of Protest Hits Huntington Beach

The surfing competition at Huntington State Beach on Sunday certainly looked like any other.

Guys in wetsuits did their snaps, floaters, cutbacks and chop hops in ocean water smooth as glass. But there were a few signs that these moves were an aquatic march on Orange County to denounce ocean contamination.

“If you do find poop you will get a high score,” the event announcer declared over a loudspeaker.

Consider the wave-riding as an offshore grass-roots effort. Between heats at the “Broken Pipe Masters” surf competition, 60 surfers criticized local officials for failing to do more to clean up the beaches.

The event’s name was a play on words that only insiders might understand. It not only implies that ocean contamination can stem from broken sewer pipes but also refers to Hawaii’s favorite surf spot, Pipeline, where waves are hungry enough to swallow the Huntington Beach Pier.

The event was organized by Kevin Ashford, owner of 5 Star Surf Magazine, and supported by several surf industry companies.

Local surfers said they get sick more frequently and believe their illnesses are related to bacteria in the water. Among their symptoms are sore throats, ear infections, diarrhea, vomiting and skin rashes.

“We’re angry. The water is really dirty and everyone is talking about it,” said Huntington Beach resident Jeremy Pfifer, 29.

Ironically, Sunday’s surf was clearer than any in recent memory, Pfifer and other surfers said.

“I could even see the bottom,” he said, laughing.

But some sections of Huntington Beach have been closed on and off since July 1, when health officials found high levels of bacteria in the water, including extremely high levels of enterococcus--known to cause gastrointestinal and respiratory infections.

The beaches were opened for the Labor Day holiday, then closed again the following week when traces of fecal contamination reappeared. In mid-September, more than 1,000 hypodermic needles washed ashore at Huntington Beach, forcing the temporary closure of more than two miles of shoreline, authorities said.

Although a new state law requires the beach closures, surfers believe that city officials have not been fully forthcoming about the presence of contamination and are not doing enough to address the problem.

Don Slaven, executive committee member of the Huntington Beach-Long Beach chapter of the Surf Rider Foundation, said city officials, just before Labor Day, “shot themselves in the foot. They were very adamant about opening the beaches despite the fact they were contaminated” because they wanted to lure tourists.

Huntington Beach Councilman Tom Harman, who was not at the event Sunday, said surfers “are not being completely fair in saying we are not doing anything.”

The city has spent $335,000 to find the source of the high bacteria levels, and the Orange County Sanitation District has spent $1.2 million trying to identify and contain the problem. In an effort to stem the flow of further contamination, the city is now treating runoff rain water before it washes into the ocean, even though it doesn’t have to, he said.

“People are frustrated, and perhaps they don’t fully appreciate the efforts of government agencies to remedy the problem,” Harman said.

Surfer T.J. Jenkins, 18, of Newport Beach said surfers like him don’t have the specialized skills to clean the beaches themselves. Instead, he said, they are surfing these days with a purpose.

Jenkins said he was at the beach Sunday “not to compete. It’s to support the cause. It’s better than doing nothing at all.”