Sanitation Officials Will Add Bleach to Ocean-Bound Waste

Sanitation officials plan to add 12,000 gallons of bleach a day to the sewage that goes into the ocean off Huntington Beach, after finding that bacteria and other disease-causing substances were coming close to shore.

Some authorities hailed the move, saying it would clean virtually all the bacteria flowing into the ocean, but environmentalists said it could endanger sea life.

“They’re going to be polluting the ocean habitat with chlorine to solve their past sins? Unacceptable,” said Bob Caustin, founder of Defend the Bay.

But officials with the Orange County Sanitation District said Friday they will work carefully to prevent environmental damage.

Sewage is discharged 41/2 miles from shore. But a plume of sewage spotted near Newport Pier, a half-mile from shore, prompted the move, said Blake Anderson, the district’s general manager.

“This decision ... is being made in the best interest[s] of the community we serve,” Anderson said.

On Feb. 11, tests showed the plume on the surface of the ocean three miles offshore. Two miles offshore, the plume was 15 feet below the ocean’s surface. Less than a half-mile off Newport Beach, it was 45 feet deep.

“Frankly, that’s getting a little too close for comfort,” Anderson said.

In 90 days, the district plans to start adding 12,000 gallons of bleach daily to the 243 million gallons of sewage it pumps into its ocean outfall pipe. Half of that sewage receives only primary treatment; the district has a waiver from the state and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that allows it to release the less-treated sewage.

The bleach is three times stronger than the household variety. The chemical will cost $5 million annually, and other expenses are unknown.

Bleach will be used as a temporary measure until the district settles on a more permanent disinfection treatment, probably using ultra-fine filters, Anderson said. That will take years, he added. The district has never used chlorine.

“The reason we have not employed chorine disinfection is our concern for the environment and the animals that live at the end of our outfall,” Anderson said. But according to the district, the plan is to use levels so low, the chlorine would break down before it reaches the ocean.

Regulatory officials with the EPA and the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board said chlorine use is common in California, and it can be done with minimal harm to the environment if done right.

Los Angeles County uses chlorine on sewage discharged into the ocean, but plans to stop after its new treatment facility is built later this year.