Grand Jury Tackles Runoff

The Orange County Grand Jury on Wednesday called for improved testing of waterways contaminated by urban runoff, better public notification of health hazards and the creation of task forces to encourage protection of each regional watershed.

While acknowledging that the county has worked to address urban runoff, “the consensus is that it’s not necessarily solving the problem,” grand jury member Ronald Burczewski said.

Orange County has 13 distinct watersheds, from creeks to flood control channels, that flow into its harbors and ocean waters. Every day, according to the grand jury report, health advisories are posted on various county beaches--3,877 total days of postings in 2000 alone.

Jurors recommended that the county Health Care Agency develop faster and more direct testing procedures to determine bacterial contamination and to set priorities for reducing health hazards.

The only similar study of West Coast waters was conducted in Santa Monica Bay in 1995.

The report also called for all warnings and beach closure signs to be in English and Spanish. Other recommendations:

* The county executive office should organize a formal Watershed Management Team for each watershed.

* The county Public Facilities and Resources Department should develop a database of urban runoff projects, treatment options and their effectiveness to help implement the best management practices.

* The county executive office and the county Public Facilities and Resources Department should develop a countywide water quality strategic plan.

* The county Sanitation District, Aliso Water Management Agency and the Southeast Regional Reclamation Authority should develop a plan to divert dry-weather water flows from all storm drains in chronic problem areas.

Chad Nelson, environmental director for the Surfrider Foundation, said that the report does a good job of summarizing the problem of urban runoff in Orange County, but that the recommendations don’t go far enough.

“The calls for more epidemiological studies and urban runoff management plans are positive recommendations,” he said.

But, Nelson said, “the fact that there’s no discussion of land-use planning is the most glaring omission. Orange County has been growing by leaps and bounds and we aren’t constructing our houses in such as way as to limit urban runoff.”

He added: “We need to do a better job of educating the public about individual responsibility to prevent urban runoff.”

County senior planner Michael Wellborn welcomed the grand jury’s report. “We’ve been working on these water-quality issues with our partners in the county. That includes the Corps of Engineers, our cities, water and waste water agencies. And even groups like the Surfrider Foundation have been helping work on these problems and looking at solutions.”

Wellborn said the grand jury’s recommendations “are right in line with the kind of direction we’ve been working on with our partners, and I think they will help us work to achieve more of the research and science that is needed in dealing with water-quality standards.”