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Whenever it rains in Los Angeles, it exemplifies how we are all connected, whether living in the Valley or at the beach. "The county’s 2,800-mile storm drain system is designed to channel rainwater to the ocean to prevent local flooding," explains officials from the nonprofit Heal the Bay. "But it also has the unintended function of moving pollution directly into the Santa Monica and San Pedro bays following rainstorms."
While Heal the Bay warns that people should avoid water contact within 72 hours after rainfall, the Los Angeles County of Public Health is a bit more optimistic about the situation, telling people to only avoid water contact near discharging storm drains, creeks, and rivers. “Fortunately, discharging storm drains, creeks, and rivers only comprises a small portion of the beach, and therefore, anybody who wants to go to the beach will be able to enjoy their outing,” said Jonathan E. Fielding, the county's health officer.
Bacteria, debris, trash, and other public health hazards from city streets and mountain areas are likely to enter ocean waters though these outlets, explain health officials. Heal the Bay adds that each month an estimated 1 million cigarette butts are dropped on the ground, 82,000 dog droppings are not picked up by owners and driveways and sidewalks are hosed off into storm drains 415,000 times.
The county's advisory will be in effect until at least Friday, October 16, at 4:30 p.m. Updated info can be found by calling the beach closure hotline at 1-800-525-5662 or visiting their website.
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What sucks is that if we didn't stack asphalt and concrete everywhere... and we actually had grass to absorb the rain we so desperately needed, we wouldn't have to deal with these man made pollution issues. Hopefully there will be a stronger push to plant more trees etc, and also for people to install rainwater barrels.
Why hasn't there been an effort to built something to at least filter the water as it hits the end of the river run.
This is just one of the some of the efforts going on:
- http://laist.com/2009/05/20/one_way_we_fight_water_pollution_ca.php
- http://laist.com/2009/05/22/answering_your_questions_on_catch_b.php
Santa Monica wisely installed this facility some years ago.
It's called SMURRF...
http://www.arts.santa-monica.org/gallery/urbandesign/urbanrunoff.html
You can visit this facility. It's walking distance from the SM Pier
I'm not sure it's large enough to process the rain water from a big storm, but it is a very ingenious idea. One that could and should be copied by L.A. and other coastal communities.