Rain Runoff Gives Beaches a Trashing

Robert Ray, working slowly and methodically, poked his way through storm debris washed up on the sands of Newport Beach on Wednesday afternoon. There wasn’t much of interest to find, Ray said. But as any beachcomber knows, the fun lies in the browsing.

“I get a kick out of coming down here,” Ray, 76, said, leaning on a cane as shorebirds circled and screeched overheard.

The most dangerous runoff from storm drains and riverbeds after wet weather is invisible: The soup of bacteria and chemicals that leads Orange County Health Care Agency officials to recommend no contact with ocean water for 72 hours after the rains stop.

But runoff from this week’s heavy winter rains also pushed more than 300 tons of debris down the Santa Ana River and up onto the Newport Beach shoreline, a flow of urban flotsam as notable for its commonality as for its bulk.

While most of the material consisted of uprooted reeds and other plants, the rest of the garbage hinted at life in Southern California’s overstuffed neighborhoods. There were plastic bottles and spray cans, chunks of plastic foam and lost balls from unseen children’s games, a battered blue motorcycle helmet and a solitary sandal.

“I’ve seen everything from crash helmets to water heaters,” said Rick Greaney, beach supervisor for Newport Beach. “We’ve had rattlesnakes wash down the river. In the old days, when Orange County had oranges, oranges would wash down. And in the very old days, cattle would fall in and wash down.”

Work crews spent Tuesday and part of Wednesday hauling the debris off to the county landfill, one 20-ton dump truck at a time, Greaney said.

Ray did his bit to lighten the work crews’ load, picking through the balls and bottles, plastic bits and boards, to find a handful of sturdy reeds to use as stakes for sweet peas in his garden.

“You can find just about anything here, I’m sure,” Ray said. He then ambled back down the shoreline to his house, a solitary figure against the wide and empty beach.