Accomplishments

Marina del Rey Fecal Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load
On March 18, 2004, the fecal bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Marina del Rey Harbor was adopted by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. A TMDL is the maximum amount of a pollutant, in this case fecal bacteria, that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards set to protect the beneficial uses of that water body. Currently, the entire marina routinely fails the State's bacteriological health standards for recreational activities. Mothers' Beach, a popular swimming location for families with small children, is one of the most polluted beaches in Southern California, exceeding the State health standards approximately 25% of the time during dry summer (a grade of C) and winter weather, and a dismal 64% of the time during wet weather (a grade of F).

The Marina del Rey TMDL, modeled after the Fecal Bacteria TMDL adopted in 2002 for the Santa Monica Bay beaches, will result in significant improvements in water quality within the marina and much safer conditions for swimmers, kayakers and boaters. The TMDL prohibits any exceedances of the State's health standards during the summer months (April through October) by 2007. For the winter season, the regulation allows for some exceedances of the health standards to account for fecal bacteria from stormwater and birds or other natural sources. Thus, the waters within the marina must be cleaned up to the water quality conditions observed at relatively clean beaches in undeveloped areas of Santa Monica Bay, such as Leo Carillo Beach in Malibu. During dry winter conditions (November through March), the marina waters and Mothers' Beach may not exceed bacterial standards more than three times, which will result in a 22% reduction in the number of days the water quality currently exceeds the health standards at Mothers' Beach. During wet winter conditions, 17 days of exceedances are allowed to account for natural sources, resulting in a 42% reduction in the number of days Mothers' Beach will exceed the health standards. These winter season targets must be met by 2014, unless an integrated water resources approach (i.e., using stormwater as a resource instead of discharging it to the ocean) or an approach that reduces multiple pollutants are used, in which case an extra 7 years could be allotted for final compliance with the TMDL during the winter season.

The TMDLs adopted for Los Angeles and Ventura County waterbodies are a result of a 1998 consent decree entered into between Heal the Bay, the Santa Monica Baykeeper, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Malibu Creek Fecal Bacteria TMDL
On January 29th, 2004 the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) approved new limits for fecal bacteria in the Malibu Creek watershed. Malibu Creek and Lagoon are polluted with fecal bacteria at levels that often greatly exceed the state health standards for swimming. The pollution could be coming from many sources, including urban runoff, agriculture, horse-related activities, and malfunctioning septic systems. The new TMDL regulation will replace the flawed TMDL developed by the U.S. EPA last year (reported on in the last edition of the annual BRC).

The Malibu Creek TMDL, modeled after the Santa Monica Bay Beaches TMDL, requires the water in Malibu Creek and its tributaries to meet the State health standards at all times during the summer (April through October) by 2007 to 2010, depending on the compliance progress achieved by the implementing agencies. For the winter season, the regulation allows for some exceedances of the health standards to account for fecal bacteria from birds and other natural sources. During dry winter weather, the Malibu Creek watershed may not exceed bacterial standards on more than three days by 2010. During wet winter conditions, 17 days of exceedances are allowed to account for natural sources. These wet winter season targets must be met by 2014, unless an integrated water resources approach or an approach that reduces multiple pollutants is used, in which case an extra 7 years could be allotted for final compliance with the TMDL during the winter season.

Importantly, the TMDL specifically requires implementing agencies to focus their efforts on highrisk on-site wastewater treatment systems. The TMDL defines high-risk systems as those located within 250 feet of a creek that does not meet water quality standards, or those that have less than a 10 foot separation between the disposal field and groundwater. Unfortunately, the RWQCB staff is now proposing to weaken this definition considerably, which could greatly decrease the effectiveness of the initial TMDL.

San Diego's Mission Bay Epidemiological Study
U.C. Berkeley and the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) will complete an epidemiology study on swimmers at chronically polluted Mission Bay beaches by the end of the year. This is the first west-coast study on swimmers at an enclosed salt-water beach, which are often the most polluted beaches along California's coast. The epidemiology study researchers collected samples last summer and analyzed them for total coliform, fecal coliform, and enterococcus bacteria. In addition, the researchers will analyze some samples for viruses and bacteriophages. Swimmers and non-swimmers from six different beaches in Mission Bay took part in the study.

Heal the Bay's Model Program for Monitoring and Public Notification Programs at Marine Beaches
Heal the Bay has developed a model monitoring program for local health agencies, beach managers, and non-profits around the country to use as a tool for improving their beach monitoring and public notification programs. Funded by the U.S. EPA, Heal the Bay developed the program to enhance and expand upon existing U.S. EPA beach monitoring guidance by providing a model program that improves the efficiency and protectiveness of beach monitoring programs. The protocols recommended in the model program are based on health risks and the most recent scientific findings related to beach pollution and recreational water epidemiology. The model program is specifically designed to address three factors that significantly affect risk management at recreational beaches: the uncertainty associated with using fecal bacteria indicators, the significant variability observed in bacteria densities in marine waters, and the lag-time between sample collection and public notification. In addition to improving protection of public health at beaches, Heal the Bay hopes the model program will help promote consistency in monitoring and public notification programs implemented across the country. The model program will be available for download from our web site soon or contact Heal the Bay if you want a copy now.

Rapid Methodologies for Detecting Bacteria Indicators and other Potential Indicators of Fecal Contamination
Through the Clean Beach Initiative, the State of California is funding research on the rapid detection of microbiological indicators of fecal contamination. Rapid detection technology has the potential to greatly improve protection of public health at recreational waters and our ability to track and identify sources of fecal contamination. As reported in the last annual BRC, several methodologies look promising; however, there are many technical hurdles that must be tackled before we see these technologies used routinely in beach monitoring. Some of the challenges are high detection limits, specificity issues, and viability measurement problems. Over the past year, Phase I of the project was completed under the guidance of the SCCWRP. During this phase, five research and development teams were funded to adapt their bacteria detection technology for application to saltwater beaches. Based on their results, three teams were selected to conduct field studies at marine beaches in Southern California this summer and to further develop their methods so that local monitoring agencies could routinely use the technology at our local beaches. So far, the results of the development look promising. Heal the Bay expects to see some application of these rapid technologies, particularly for source identification, at our beaches within the next 3-5 years.

Recommendations for the Coming Year

• Advocate for Year-Round Postings at Beaches with Flowing Storm Drains
In Southern California, there is little consistency among counties monitoring storm drain impacted beaches on where to collect a sample, when to post a warning sign, and where to post the warning sign. For example, on the issue of where to monitor on the beach, counties will collect water samples from the wave wash (where the creek, river, or storm drain meet the ocean water) to as far as 83 yards from the drain, and anywhere in between. With regards to posting, State regulations require posting a beach when a water sample exceeds the single sample standard. The State gives local health departments discretion to post a beach if the 30-day geometric mean standard is exceeded. Using both the single sample and 30-day geometric mean standards is far more protective of public health than using one standard. The following demonstrates the differences in county practices: the counties of Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles and the City of Long Beach will only post a beach if there is a single sample exceedance; the County of Orange will post a beach on either a single sample or 30- day geometric mean exceedance; and the County of San Diego will initially only post a beach on a single sample exceedance but will continue that posting if subsequent sampling causes an exceedance of either the single sample or 30-day geometric mean standard. Finally, where to post the warning sign is subject to where the samples are collected and therefore highly variable.

To address these three points, Heal the Bay recommends permanently posting warning signs along the entire length of beach adjacent to flowing storm drains where water quality may fail to meet the State health standards for both the single sample and 30-day geometric mean. This recommendation is based on the results of the Storm Drain Plume Dispersion study Heal the Bay completed with SCCWRP, and represents a change from the current posting protocol implemented by health agencies. The study investigated how the dispersion of fecal bacteria discharged from storm drains into Santa Monica Bay is affected by ocean and discharge conditions. The results of this study demonstrated that the length of beach unsafe for swimming is beach-specific depending on local beach topography, and can vary over the course of a few hours. The study results also indicated that exceedances of the health standards can occur along the beach at distances much greater than the distance covered by monitoring stations routinely sampled by local health agencies. Based on these results, Heal the Bay believes the protocol typically used by County health agencies for posting warning signs may not be adequately notifying swimmers of potential health risks around freshwater outlets in Southern California.

We have the following three sequential recommendations to improve the current system warning the beach-going public that water quality may exceed State health standards:

1. The beach adjacent to a polluted storm drain or freshwater outlet should be posted with warning signs over the entire length of beach where water quality is affected by the plume of fecal bacteria discharging from the drain.
   
2. Since the length of beach where water quality may be impacted by high fecal bacteria levels is beach-specific, we recommend this length be determined by completing multiple sampling events at multiple locations around the drain under varying oceanographic conditions.
   
3. Once the length of beach impacted has been determined, routine monitoring locations should be moved to the location of the warning sign placed furthest from the drain. Routine monitoring is conducted to make sure the length of beach impacted by the drain is posted with warning signs so that swimmers can identify which portion of the beach may not be safe for swimming. Under the current scenario, signs may be posted only directly in front of a drain, even though unsafe water quality conditions may persist 100 yards or more from the drain.

• Advocate for increased funding for California's shoreline monitoring program from EPA's BEACH program.
Last year, the State received $535,000 to implement a statewide shoreline water quality monitoring and public notification program at popular beaches. State allotments are based on three criteria: the length of the beach season, the amount of beach miles, and estimated beachgoers. Although California received one of the largest grants for this program, the allotment criteria used by EPA has two shortcomings that have prevented California from receiving additional funds to cover the cost of monitoring. The first problem with the allotment methodology is the lack of criteria for strength of monitoring program or public notification. EPA does not provide an incentive to move states beyond the basic baseline water quality monitoring and public notification program. For example, states may monitor for only one fecal indicator or may not notify the public about water quality exceedances in a timely manner, yet those states will continue to receive full funding compared to states, such as California, which monitor for three fecal bacteria criteria, and notify the public immediately of any water quality exceedances. The EPA needs to provide greater proportional funding to those states that implement the aforementioned model program in order to provide an incentive for improving public health protection. The second problem with the allotment methodology is that it is inherently subjective, and the EPA has no mechanism to confirm that its methodology is truly ensuring funds are going to the most appropriate states. Because these shortcomings have yet to be addressed by EPA, and California's program continues to expand into other counties, many of the State's coastal counties will be receiving less money to implement water quality monitoring programs this year. This means that counties will either have to reduce the number of locations sampled or reduce the time-period of coverage.

• Advocate for the implementation of a Statewide Comprehensive Stormwater Monitoring Program (SB72).
SB72 (2001 Kuehl) (Cal. Water Code Section 13383.5) was sponsored by Heal the Bay. This law requires the standardization of stormwater monitoring programs. A uniform and comprehensive monitoring program is critical to the success of the State's stormwater programs. Currently, every county or municipality covered under the municipal stormwater permit requirements has different monitoring programs-this is the reason why no one can complete a status and trends analysis of stormwater in the state. The data are not comparable from permittee program to permittee program, and often not even from year to year within the same program. SB72 also clarifies what information to consider when determining which constituents should be monitored in municipal runoff. This law set clear and specific minimum requirements for municipalities and industries for monitoring:

1. Standardized methods for collection of storm water samples;
   
2. Standardized methods for analysis of storm water samples;
   
3. Requirement that sample analysis be completed by a state certified laboratory;
   
4. Standardized reporting format;
   
5. Standard QA/QC programs;
   
6. Minimum detection limits.

Cal. Water Code Section 13383.5 required that the above requirements be addressed by January, 2003, which was over a year ago. To date, a technical working group has only provided partial recommendations for the municipal stormwater program requirements of SB72, and the State has done nothing to set up a similar process for industrial stormwater. The State has failed to comply with SB72 requirements.

•  Continue to ensure that best management practices are implemented at enclosed beaches, and advocate for the development and implementation of tidal circulation improvements to reduce bacterial indicator densities.
Beaches such as Kiddie Beach in Channel Islands Harbor, Mothers' Beach in Marina del Rey, Cabrillo Beach in Los Angeles Harbor, Baby Beach in Dana Point Harbor and a number of beaches in Mission Bay all received fair-to-poor water quality marks. Whether the pollution problem is due to a lack of tidal circulation or a beach's proximity to a pollution source, young beachgoers are far too frequently exposed to unhealthful water quality conditions. One of Heal the Bay's highest priorities for the year is to ensure that these chronically polluted beaches are cleaned up.

• Continue to encourage monitoring agencies to monitor water quality at popular beaches yearround (beyond the AB411 required dates of April-October).
Year-round monitoring provides winter beachgoers, often surfers who frequent the beach for winter swells, with important information about water quality. In California there is no set beach season. Surfers, swimmers, divers, windsurfers, and kayakers use the water year-round, so all of these ocean enthusiasts have the right to know about water quality at their favorite beaches on a year-round basis.

• Continue to work with Northern California coastal counties to assist in developing their monitoring programs and databases
Heal the Bay will continue to work, where needed, with the Environmental Health Departments in Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo to ensure that the necessary resources exist for them to develop adequate monitoring and public notification programs, and database systems.

• Continue to improve the Beach Report Card methodology.
Always seeking ways to improve the quality of the Beach Report Card, Heal the Bay plans to modify our methodology this summer to better reflect water quality trends and their associated health risks. Some of the items we plan to incorporate, eliminate, or weight differently in the methodology are: the State's Beach Bathing water Standards for the geometric mean, the weighting for the most recent water quality data, the point scale for bacterial exceedances, and the time-frame for determining grades.

• Continue to advocate for the State to enforce Sanitary Survey Protocol requirements as established in AB538 and the California Ocean Plan
In an effort to do more than just notify beachgoers of potential water quality problems at their favorite beaches per AB411, AB538 was passed to require sanitary surveys (source investigations) to be completed at those beaches where water quality problems persisted. The purpose of the law was to identify the sources causing beach water quality impairment, and implement necessary strategies to abate the pollution source. The requirement of a source investigation was not a new concept created by AB538 in 1999-the Ocean Plan has required a similar procedure since 1988. The State never enforces or requires municipalities to implement these surveys when exceedances occur. The Ocean Plan states that ".if a shore station consistently exceeds a coliform objective or exceeds a geometric mean.the Regional Board shall require the appropriate agency to conduct a survey to determine if that agency's discharge is the source of the contamination." (State Water Resources Control Board Ocean Plan 1997).

AB538 states that source investigations shall be conducted "if bacteriological standards are exceeded in any three weeks of a four-week period, or, for areas where testing is done more than once a week, 75 percent of testing days that produce an exceedence of those standards." Implementation of the sanitary survey regulatory program will better protect the health of swimmers and surfers.

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