Rain, Ocean Patterns Postpone Testing for Pollutants Until May

The Orange County Sanitation District has called off winter ocean water testing off Huntington Beach because of recent rainfall and seasonal changes in the ocean.

The testing, which will resume in May, will evaluate whether partially treated sewage from the district’s outfall pipe four miles offshore is making its way back to the coast.

The theory was put forth by UC Irvine researchers trying to explain high bacteria counts that have plagued much of Huntington Beach the last two summers. The scientists suspect that tidal forces and warm water released by a nearby power plant are drawing the bacteria-laden sewage toward shore.

The testing is being delayed because the results would have been contaminated by recent rainfall that pushed massive amounts of toxic urban runoff into the ocean. Ocean stratification also differs seasonally, so researchers would not be studying ocean conditions similar to the summer, when the bacteria counts rose.

But the delay won’t affect the results, district spokeswoman Lisa Lawson said. Because the initial testing was intended to be a “trial run, this just gives us fewer trial runs,” she said.