Won’t you be my neighbor… who waters less?
Written by Jill Witkowski
Last Saturday morning, I was heading out for a run, when I noticed my neighbor was watering his lawn. It was 11 a.m., and some of his sprinklers had overshot his lawn and water was flowing directly into the storm drain. The fact that my neighbor was watering during drought restrictions was bad enough, but with the water running straight into the storm drain, I knew there could be some serious water quality impacts, like increased pesticides, fertilizers or sediment ending up in our waters.
I ran back home to grab my phone to report the drought violation (619) 533-7485) to the water department and report the stormwater violation to the stormwater hotline (619) 235-1000). On my way back to my neighbor’s house to get his house number, I saw my neighbor in his garage, putting away his surfboard. I’m not a fan of confrontation, so I was a little scared to say something to him. But I figured that, as a fellow surfer, he was probably as worried about water quality as I am and would want to know what he could do to help out.
So I called to him and asked him if it was his place. I asked if he had heard about the drought watering restrictions, which prohibit lawn watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. He hadn’t heard about it and said he would talk to his landlord about it. I walked him around the front of the house and pointed out the water heading straight into the storm drain. I explained how the water runs—untreated—into the ocean, carrying with it bacteria, pesticides, copper, nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment and other pollutants that harm our waterways.
My neighbor was very receptive to what I was saying, and it felt great to be able to share my knowledge and passion for clean water. So, as scary as it may seem to talk with your neighbors about things they’re doing that could harm water quality, whether it’s washing their car or watering their lawns at the wrong time, failing to fix vehicle leaks or other harmful practices, the conversation will be worth the effort.
But if you’re still a little shy, how about leaving your neighbor a note? The City of San Diego put together a great form you can print, fill out and leave with your neighbors.
Copper brake pads: fish and people don't have to live in conflict
Written by Gabriel Solmer
Off the top of your head, you could probably list the major problems with cars – greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuels, miles of pavement, etc. Add one more to the list: copper in brake pads. It’s something we overlook; each time we stop our cars, trace amounts of copper dust are shaved off the brake pads and left on the streets. That copper dust is carried through our stormwater channels down to our beaches and creeks. Copper is toxic to marine wildlife, indeed copper in boat hull paint is used precisely because it kills fouling organisms.
As today’s UT story points out, a California bill is nearing the Governor’s desk – SB 346 – which will address this threat. This bill, authored by San Diego Senator Christine Kehoe, will phase out the copper in brake pads starting in 2021 and virtually eliminate the metal by 2025. Coastkeeper has worked for years on reducing copper and applauds the change. We’ve also joined with Sustainable Conservation’s Brake Pad Partnership to craft the bill’s language to make sure vehicle safety is preserved.
One more example that fish and people don’t have to be in conflict.
I love wine. I enjoy dark beer, tart lemonade and cold tap water. But I love wine. Especially if it’s red and spicy with hints of berry.
Unfortunately, most of my favorites (Argentinean Malbec, Australian Shiraz and, as of last night, a nice little Petite Syrah from France’s Rhône region) have pretty huge carbon footprints. They may also “benefit” from the latest in chemical pesticides, herbicides and other miracles of modern viticulture. It’s hard to tell.
What’s a girl to do?
I can’t stand to give up all of my favorites, all the time, so I’ve instituted a 50/50 rule. Since I live in California, there’s really no shortage of local and regional varietals. And the local markets and bottle shops usually have a section of organic and bio-dynamic wines. (I used to think that bio-dynamic meant low-water and have since discovered that it’s a little more, shall we say, holistic than that. I’m all for low-impact agriculture, though, even if that means counting the phases of the sun and moon.)
Local growers seem to be rising to the challenge, too. A couple weeks ago, I went wine tasting in Temecula and saw at least two vineyards growing organically and one bio-dynamically. Evidently several others are organic in practice, but not actually certified. I’m planning a trip back next month to check them out. Eventually, my hope is to find enough good wines to go 90/10. I’m keeping 10 percent for that Malbec, but let me know if you have a recommendation.
Don’t let ACC's trickery fool you! Plastic bags are bad
Written by Alicia Glassco
Why is this year’s plastic bag ban (AB 1998) struggling in its final days in the CA state legislature? It’s hard to argue the fact that 19 billion of these bags are used in California each year, while only five percent of them get recycled and the rest are choking our landfills and waterways or killing wildlife.
But somehow, the plastics industry lobbyists from the ACC (American Chemistry Council, AKA the devil) are using fear tactics and gross overstatements in a new ad campaign that must be costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
They’ve also created a website called Stop the Bag Police that is overflowing with disinformation and a list of businesses that were undoubtedly mislead about the intent and consequences of the bill.
To set the record straight:
- First, most of the plastic bag manufacturers are based in Texas, not California.
- Second, plastic distributors and companies in California sell a diverse portfolio of items with plastic bags making up a small portion of their overall sales (no lost jobs!).
- Third, the ACC should have been working with their industry factories five years ago when we first met with them to tell them about the harms plastic bags create for our environment, knowing that this change for sustainability was coming down the line.
- Fourth, you want green jobs? How about a boom for the 19 reusable bag companies based in California?
This bill is a win-win with a LONG list of supporters (download a list of supporters in San Diego ), and the legislators who are behind it should be applauded for protecting our collective future.
There are about 4 days left to contact your senator to vote Yes on AB 1998. DO IT.
Please eat this fish to extinction.
What an interesting idea. Personally I've never tried lionfish, but word on the street is that it is quite delectable. Lionfish are an invasive species (and aggressive predator) to the Atlantic. And to keep them from chomping their way to domination, NOAA developed an "Eat Lionfish" campaign.
It’s like a reverse seafood watch card - well, if only for this one species.
While it might be hard to get lionfish on the dock down at Point Loma, all you seafood eaters out there can rightfully eat the cr*p out of locally caught striped bass and still feel just as good.
It’s down to the wire. With days to go until the legislative deadline of August 31, we need to push HARD to get AB 1998 to the front of the agenda. If you haven't already, please write AND call your senator to tell them you support Assembly Bill 1998 to rid the state of single-use plastic bags.
We all know that single-use bags are bad for our environment, but did you know that they are also bad for our California economy? Litter from single-use plastic items decreases tourist values and costs local governments and private businesses millions of dollars each year to cleanup. To stop the flow of debris from our hands to the sea, we need legislation such as AB 1998 that will affect the entire state. This bill will ban plastic single-use bags and require recycled paper bags be sold at supermarkets, retail pharmacies and convenience stores throughout California, thus pushing Californians towards the sustainable choice—REUSABLE BAGS!
Want to get more involved?
Help us get last minute supporters by forwarding this link to friends and neighbors, sending in a letter on behalf of your business or contacting This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.
California’s ocean economy is valued at $43 billion, including an estimated 408,000 jobs mostly in the tourism and recreation sectors. But plastic bags are littering our waterways and our coasts, threatening the marine environment, damaging our economy, and creating a potential hazard to human health. Join in the fight against plastic bag waste by SUPPORTING AB 1998!
Assembly Bill 1998 (AB 1998) will ban plastic single-use bags and require recycled paper bags be sold at supermarkets, retail pharmacies, and convenience stores throughout California. Passage of this legislation is a major step in breaking our addition to single-use bags and reducing the environmental and economic impacts of plastic bag pollution in inland and coastal communities.
State agencies in California spend $25 million every year to clean up plastic single-use bags that end up in our waste stream. This value doesn’t include the millions of dollars that local governments must spend in street sweeping, litter prevention and outreach programs, and cleaning up trash-impaired waterways. Our time and money can be put to better use.
We urge you to join the fight to BAN PLASTIC BAGS and reduce trash in our waterways and on our beaches!
Please sign this letter telling your California State Senator that you support AB 1998 to ban single-use plastic bags. Try to send in a letter of support on behalf of the business you work for, and show that this bill will not negatively impact our California economy. Contact Coastkeeper for more information.
Coastkeeper Tours Groundwater Replenishment System
Written by Sarah DevineOn June 25, the San Diego Coastkeeper Environmental Law Clinic staff and legal interns toured the Orange County Groundwater Replenishment System in Fountain Valley, CA.
The Orange County Groundwater Replenishment System began as a response to a water shortage in Orange County in 1965. At this time it was discovered that the water table had dropped so low that ocean water was seeping in and contaminating the groundwater. Since Orange County currently gets about 60 percent of its water from the ground, protecting this source is very important. To protect the groundwater, the district began a project known as Water Factory 21.
Today’s program is an expansion of the successes of Water Factory 21. Water is pumped over from the sewage treatment plant next door. Within 45 minutes it is perfectly clean water. The plant uses a three-step process to clean the water. First, the water is filtered using a microfiltration system that sucks the water through very fine filters. Then the water goes through reverse osmosis where water is forced through the molecular structure of the Reverse Osmosis membranes. After this stage the water is exposed to ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide to disinfect the water and destroy trace compounds that may have passed through the Reverse Osmosis membranes.
Half of the now pure water is pumped into the seawater barrier to keep the seawater from infiltrating the groundwater basin, and half is pumped up and naturally filters into the groundwater. The system produces almost 70 million gallons of filtered water each day keeping the groundwater pure and plentiful.
After touring the entire process, we were able to taste the water. It was great. It’s so pure, and has no mineral content, so it’s practically tasteless.
Reactions to 2.1 Million Gallon Sewage Spill in Tijuana River Valley
Written by Jen Kovecses
Of San Diego’s eleven watersheds, the Tijuana River watershed is the largest. Most of it lies on the Mexican side of the border. It is also the watershed with some of the worst sewage pollution in our region. When you hear about Imperial Beach being closed because of high bacteria counts, it is a good bet that the sewage causing the problem came from Mexico. After years of squabbling over how to fix the problem – building the Bajagua treatment plant, upgrading other facilities – there seemed to be enough political drama to start a Mexican soap opera but no real solution to the problem. In April of this year, La Morita sewage treatment plant opened in Tijuana. This plant will treat much of the sewage in the Tijuana region and reclaim some of that treated wastewater for use in the irrigation of an adjacent nursery. The trees grown with that reclaimed water will be planted throughout Baja California. This plant is a big step towards being the first region in Mexico to treat 100% of its sewage.
Needless to say, it was with dismay that I read the news on Sunday that there had been an enormous spill – 2.1 million gallons of raw sewage – in the Tijuana River Valley at the beginning of June. Maybe more alarming than the spill itself is that none of it was captured by the International Boundary and Water Commission’s facility. The IWBC treatment facility was designed specifically to capture these types of flows. The foreign origin of the problem and the federal status of the IWBC facility have put this spill outside of the regulatory reach of the Regional Water Quality Control Board and it seems that in addition to no clean-up, there will be no real enforcement action either.
While news of this spill is a sad reminder of the many infrastructure problems of the border region, we need to stay focused on the positive steps that have been taken to remedy the problem. Less than ten years ago, it was not uncommon to open your morning newspaper to read a story about huge volumes of sewage flowing untreated into San Diego’s creeks and bays. These spills would leave behind a wake of pollution that fouled our shorelines and exposed surfers and swimmers to micro-organisms that can make people sick. In the face of government and regulatory inaction, groups like San Diego Coastkeeper stepped in with advocacy, including a lawsuit to force upgrades to our wastewater collection system. Since that time, we have seen a huge drop in sewage spills. So we know with enough pressure and will that change can happen.
What good is collecting water quality data if no one gets to see it?
In order to make data more freely available, San Diego Coastkeeper is in the process of updating our watershed wiki. The site is a platform to share information about the San Diego region’s watersheds, including data collected by the citizen water quality monitoring program. This is where users can look up data about our watersheds including beach advisories, water quality data, land use types, beneficial uses and other watershed resources. As a wiki, users are encouraged to join into the discussion. We are currently accepting feedback on how to make the data more useful and presentable.
Take a look at www.sdwatersheds.org. Learn about your local watershed, add your thoughts, and suggest improvements.
