Agencies Submit Plan to Clean Up Creek

Having failed to stall an order that compels them to clean up Aliso Creek, county and city officials Friday submitted a required plan for carrying out the work.

The plan was required by a cleanup order issued Dec. 28 by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, which has jurisdiction over part of Orange County.

The agency required Orange County, the county’s flood control district and the city of Laguna Niguel to clean up the creek, prevent future pollution, monitor water quality weekly and submit quarterly progress reports. The three agencies face fines of up to $5,000 per day or lawsuits if they fail to comply.

The plan submitted Friday contains five elements--monitoring, source identification, maintenance of road and storm drains, public education and structural treatment options.

Pollution has plagued the Aliso Creek watershed, which drains more than 34 square miles from the Santa Ana Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Efforts are focused on a storm channel that drains the Kite Hill neighborhood, where bacteria counts have been especially high.

The city and the county plan to study several treatment options, including runoff diversion to a sewage treatment plant, gravel filters for storm water, ultraviolet or ozone treatment of runoff, microbiological treatments and modernizing catch basins. A feasibility evaluation of these options will be submitted to the regional board March 31.

The first two options are the most promising, authors of the plan say. If bacteria counts are not reduced in the next two months, engineering and permitting work to implement either or both options will begin in April.

A system to divert runoff in summer months to a sewer treatment plant could be in place by May 31, and the filtration system could be ready by Oct. 15.

Laguna Niguel will also conduct a 3 1/2-week pilot study in March by constructing holding ponds to collect runoff before it reaches Sulphur or Aliso creeks. Fecal coliform levels would be reduced through the “settling and die-off process,” according to the report.

Local officials told the regional board Wednesday that fecal coliform bacteria counts have been down in the most recent sampling, so these strategies may be unnecessary if this trend continues.

The agencies plan to collect weekly water samples at three sites--near the storm channel, and upstream and downstream of it in Sulphur Creek, a tributary that flows into Aliso Creek. They will also measure stream flows to see how much urban runoff from the storm channel is affecting the tributary.

Urban runoff--trash, chemicals and pollutants washed off streets and lawns into storm drains and area waterways--is also a perpetual problem. The creek empties into the ocean in Laguna Beach, where swimmers are frequently warned of health risks.

The agencies will also heighten public education efforts, including mailing letters and questionnaires to the 1,700 Kite Hill residents about reducing pollution by March 30.

The city will also increase maintenance services. Street sweeping will occur weekly from October to December, and monitoring data will be compared to the same time period the previous year.