Don’t Let Urban Runoff Make Our Coast a Gutter

The rainy season is about to begin, so it’s again time to look at how we deal with the problems caused by urban runoff.

Urban runoff is the water that flows untreated from our gutters to the storm drains and ultimately to the ocean. It is water pollution that threatens the economy, public health and image of California’s coastal communities, and it’s imperative that we develop a plan to deal with it.

We cannot continue to allow our rivers, creeks and beaches to suffer from the growing tide of “urban slobber”: excess water from lawn sprinklers and carwashes that mixes with pet waste, cigarette butts, pesticides, fertilizers, grass clippings, leaves, litter, automotive fluids and other small, but significant, sources of pollution. It all ends up running into our streets.

This toxic brew flows directly into our storm drains, then into our ocean, where it fouls our beaches, endangering one of California’s greatest assets, and damaging our health and economy. The runoff often forces beach closures and keeps families from a well-earned day of recreation.

As a member of the Assembly who represents a large coastal community, I firmly believe clean beaches are key to the quality of life in Southern California. To help solve the mounting problem of pollution off our shores, I have written ACA-10, a bill that would allow urban runoff to be managed in the same way that three other essential services -- water, sewer and trash -- are managed.

ACA-10 would provide a mechanism for local municipalities to build upon existing efforts to prevent urban runoff from contaminating our beaches. It would give local and regional governments the same authority to levy fees for storm water management as public water agencies do for providing clean drinking water. Yes, it would require a constitutional amendment to allow local government to assess these fees, but aren’t clean beaches just as important as reliable refuse services?

Like many California residents, I believe government should be limited, but government has a responsibility to provide essential services. We have the right to clean drinking water, a well-maintained sewer system and reliable trash collection services. California’s Constitution already allows agencies to levy fees for these three essential services without a vote of the people. ACA-10 would add a fourth exemption, to allow local government to assess a fee that provides the funds to improve our ocean quality by addressing the source of the pollution problem. But it would leave the details of how, or even whether, to manage urban runoff up to local government.

ACA-10 would not create a new bureaucracy or any new regulations. It would simply give local and regional agencies the tools needed to protect beaches from this ongoing pollution problem. Those agencies that do opt to act would be rewarded with cleaner and healthier beaches.

Studies have shown that urban runoff is the most significant source of ocean water pollution along California’s coastline. We ignore this problem at our own peril. The image of California begins and ends at our coastline. Our beautiful beaches attract thousands of tourists from throughout the world, providing millions of tourism dollars that are critical to California’s economy. But those dollars will be lost if our beaches are closed. Californians and visitors expect and deserve the cleanest beaches possible, and ACA-10 will help achieve that goal.

As a Republican, I believe in personal responsibility and accountability. To that end, I believe that cleaning up California’s urban slobber begins with you and with me. Since we’ve made the mess, we should clean it up. Let’s get started.