This tip is part of San Diego Coastkeeper's Earth Day blog series running through April 22, 2012.
Do your mental and physical health a favor and make less pollution. Walk there.
When you need a sandwich for lunch, to pick up some milk or to get cash from the ATM, walk there. You might find that you walked an extra five miles in a week and got a little stronger. You might run into a neighbor you haven't seen in a while and have a chat. You might gain 30 minutes of peaceful time to yourself. And you'll definitely leave a little less copper on the road from your car brakes, burn a little less fossil fuel and contribute a little less CO2.
(Yes, my biking friends, go ahead and ride there.)
Want to get interactive? These Android apps could be fun.
However you do it, make your life easier. Walk there.
Low Impact Development in Electric Style
Written by Stephanie Lance
Low impact development, or "re-development" as New School of Architecture and Design speaker Leslie Ryan emphasized on Tuesday night, is the key to reducing the amount of pollution that runs into our beautiful San Diego Bay and surrounding ocean areas. To ensure beautiful beaches and clean water, San Diego residents need to start redeveloping our streets and sidewalks to reduce urban runoff.
That's what we learned at Signs of the Tide at the Electric Ladyland Art and Music Center in Ocean Beach. The venue created an exciting atmosphere for our moderator, Robert Santos, to set the tone of importance for low impact development in Ocean Beach.
We also heard from Edward Belden, the Principal of SCALEgreen LLC, who spoke about the issues surrounding urban runoff pollutants and where they originate. Runoff pollution consists of wet weather flows, when San Diego receives heavy rain, and dry (summer) weather flows from over irrigation of manicured lawns and carwashing in the driveway. He successfully proposed and implemented a project in Los Angeles that altered a neighborhood with a lot of runoff, to a neighborhood that is more conscious of the water that ultimately reaches the ocean. The project installed bioswales to catch water upstream, filter it into the ground and into the plants, and release less water downstream. And the project redesigned yards to have xeriscape lawns instead of water-intensive grass.
Mr. Stormwater, A.K.A Bill Harris from Think Blue San Diego, gave an expert opinion on how to reuse your stormwater runoff, by implementing the use of rain barrels; individual homes can place them under their gutter systems to catch water. In the near future, you may also be able to use a rain barrel and receive a rebate! How about that? Collect water, and get cash for it!
Leslie Ryan, landscape architecture department chair at the New School of Architecture and Design, along with her students, developed a project plan to reduce stormwater flow along Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach. The roads would be redesigned to replace black-top and concrete with permeable pavement where water can soak in, instead of flowing downhill, new parking surfaces with permeable pavement, and planter systems to absorb water in the medians and on the corners of the street. Each intervention could be as small as incorporating a planter in front of a business.
So, what can WE do to reduce the amount of urban runoff NOW? Well, according to our speakers, the
most important takeaways from our LID discussion are these:
- Change small personal behaviors (pick up after your dog, don’t overwater your lawn, etc.)
- Make all possible surfaces permeable
- Change your Landscaping (Implement a xeriscape lawn, or climate friendly plants)
- Buy a rain barrel and collect your own stormwater runoff
| NERD ALERT: The vast majority of San Diego’s inland water pollution problems are caused by non-point source sources. As opposed to a factory which discharges pollutants from a single pipe (point source), non-point sources come from many areas at once and are generally more diffuse. Our stormwater system is one example of non-point source pollution. Water from a large area is collected when we overwater our lawns, or clean our sidewalks with a hose, or from just about everywhere during a rain event. |
Urban runoff is the single biggest threat to healthy waters in San Diego.
During the long dry periods in San Diego, pollutants collect on the ground. Nutrients from wayward fertilizer applications, oil from leaky cars and copper from brake pads are examples. These pollutants are spread very thinly over a very large area and accumulate over time. When it rains, all this pollution get flushed down the stormwater system and into our rivers and eventually out into the ocean. We call the peak we see after a relatively long dry period a "first flush" event.
Take a look at this graph created by Weston Solutions, a local consultant group, made of copper concentrations in a creek during a storm event:
Copper concentrations rise along with the rise in water flow, until it reaches a peak. We then see a steep decline. What’s happening here? The first bit of rain that falls flushes copper and moves it quickly to the creek. Levels quickly drop as the streets are washed clean and the pollution flows to the ocean.
You can read the whole report here.
Almost every single pollutant will show this trend. Look at the picture below taken in the San Luis Rey watershed after a rain event. You can see the pollution heading into the ocean. Dissolved metals, bacteria, sediment and even trash follow this same pattern. Be sure to read Alicia’s blog post to learn how this phenomenon affects our marine debris problem.
Some of this pollution has serious health risks associated with them. This is why all of our beaches have advisories issued after a rain event. Since the county does not have the resources to post warnings after every rain event, be sure to check our beach status page before heading out into the ocean. We update this information as soon as the county releases updates. I check every time I go in.
How can we minimize problems associated with urban runoff?
- Low impact development around your home and community. Come to our Signs of the Tide Workshop on December 6 to learn more.
- Use appropriate landscaping choices for this area. Planting native plant communities in your garden reduce fertilizer pesticide and water use. Here are a couple of good guides.
- Fix your leaky car. Slow but steady oil drips from millions of cars adds up.
- Pick up litter before it has a chance to make it to the ocean.
Do you have any other clever ideas? Leave them in the comments.
Revisiting The San Dieguito River Park Water Testing
Written by Travis Pritchard
Way back in January, I talked about the treatment wetlands that San Dieguito River Park put in to capture and clean the storm water runoff before it enters the San Dieguito Lagoon. We have some more data to share with you, now that the wetlands have matured a bit.
Fecal Indicator Bacteria: Affecting your surf days
Once the wetlands somewhat established themselves, the wetlands dropped the concentrations of fecal indicator. Fecal indicator bacteria coming from urban runoff from the storm drain system is the reason why our beaches are closed or under advisories for most of the winter. If we can clean the water before it gets to the ocean, it means more safe winter surfing days.
Nutrients and Oxygen: Affecting the health of the lagoon
As you can see by the graphs showing nitrate and ammonia, the treatment wetlands continue to do an amazing job filtering out nitrogen based nutrients. 100% of the samples from the storm drain pipe have ammonia values well above the basin plan standards. In contrast, all of the water coming out of the treatment ponds has ammonia concentrations below the water quality standards. In a process known as eutrophication, high levels of nutrients cause algal blooms which can choke up the natural flow of the lagoon and cause a shift in plant communities that habitat the lagoon.
The treatment ponds also raise the levels of dissolved oxygen of the water entering the lagoon. Low levels of oxygen in the water will stress the fish and invertebrates that live in the lagoon, potentially causing them to suffocate.
All in all, it looks like the treatment wetlands that San Dieguito River Park installed work really, really well. Read more about the awesome work San Dieguito River Park does. I recoment going to the park and hiking the trails, they really are quite beautiful. For those of us who like to get our hands dirty, they have a lot of hands-on volunteer opportunities doing things like trail and habitat restoration. You can check out the rest of the San Dieguito River Park on our watersheds Wiki (the sites are SGT-040 and SGT-050). While you’re at the wiki, check out the water quality monitoring results at the other sampling locations we have throughout San Diego.
The crew of laboratory volunteers that actually run the tests on the water samples is one aspect of our Water Quality Monitoring program that is not publicized as much as it should be. We have a wide range of people helping out, from high school students to grad students to the semi-retired. These volunteers gain valuable, real world lab experience in addition to providing data on the health of our inland waterways. These folks are learning the tools needed to become the next environmental protectors.
If you are interested in gaining some laboratory experience, or if you are just curious about the process, contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Here are some photos from our last water monitoring event:
I can fully declare the Coastkeeper boating outreach program is officially in action. After months of arming ourselves with knowledge about environmental issues involving and impacting the boating community, recruiting a team of five volunteer boat captains, and learning how to find boaters to talk to on the water, our figurative anchors are away and we’re full steam ahead. Pardon the nauti talk if you will (as in nautical of course).
Last week, we had what you might consider our first day of formal outreach on the water. We had some great conversations with recreational boaters, talked to three underwater hull cleaners about the best management practices for reducing copper pollution and even talked with a suspected sewage pump out violater about how dangerous that habit really is.
It was one good day and the boating world, even in San Diego, is a big place. Rome wasn't built in a day, but we've got the right blend of legal advocacy, empowerment and education to keep the ship on course and an eye on the horizon.
If you are a member of the boating community and want to get involved with our program, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . We are always looking for more volunteer boat captains and business/organizations with which we can partner to improve environmental awareness in this important community.
I sit at my desk a lot. Considering I have a job that works to protect our coastline and outdoor environment, I still spend lots of time at a desk. And as I sit here, I often wonder despite the work of our amazing staff, the thousands of hours of service our volunteers provide, the work of all the other organizations trying to protect our waterways, and the increasing knowledge that our community has about pollution problems, how much pollution is building up right now?
How much oil is dripping from cars in San Diego and how much excess fertilizer is being applied to lawns, farms, nurseries and golf courses? How many dogs are pooping without it being picked up, how many cars are being washed and leaking junk into the gutter and how many construction sites are letting loose dirt erode into our creeks and rivers? It’s kinda mind boggling when you think about it. All that pollution just building up and waiting for rain or urban runoff to pick it up and take it to the ocean I love to surf and sail in.
Urban runoff and the pollution it picks up is the biggest threat to water quality in San Diego. But now we’re going to turn the tides, and use what I consider our biggest asset to combat our biggest threat: Our incredible volunteer base.
Announcing our newest volunteer program: Pollution Patrollers
We’ll be training volunteers to identify true pollution incidents and violations of Best Management Practices (all the things businesses and residents should be doing to reduce urban runoff) and using the power of our Environmental Law & Policy Clinic to report and follow up on getting them cleaned up.
Pollution Patrollers is a twofold program:
- The county and all the cities have a legal obligation to ensure those BMP’s are being met, and we’re going to audit them. We need your help to be a part of organized patrols to gauge whether or not this is happening.
- You can also use this training to identify true pollution problems in your daily life. If you’re driving around town, riding your bike, out on your boat, or taking a walk, you’ll be able to document and report those incidents to us, and we’ll help you make sure the cities follow up.
The training is June 14 from 6-8pm in La Jolla, and I’d be stoked to see you there. Shoot me an email (email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , subject line: Pollution Patrollers) to become part of this exciting program.
Good news for San Marcos residents who want to do their part to solve our urban runoff program. This Saturday, the City of San Marcos and Vallecitos Water District will be giving away rain barrels—free—at a workshop.
The event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Vallecitos Water District's offices at 201 Vallecitos de Oro in San Marcos. Space is limited, so to register, call Torrey Webb at 760-744-0460, ext. 238.
Rain barrels can be a great way to tackle two important water issues: water quality and water supply. By capturing water, rain barrels reduce the amount of water running off our roof, across our lawns and into the storm drain. This reduces the total amount of pollution that makes its way into our ocean and waterbodies. And it also reduces the amount of total water in our creeks during storm events, which reduces hydromodification, which includes devastating erosion of our creeks and waterways.
Rain barrels also address a water supply issue. By capturing water in rain barrels, residents can “harvest” the captured water and use it to irrigate their lawn and garden—reducing the amount of water they would otherwise use to irrigate their yards.
The city and the water district planned the workshop as part of long-term requirement to reduce pollution to San Marcos Creek. The city needs to reduce pollution—including bacteria, nitrogen and phosphorus—into the creek by 2021.
San Diego Coastkeeper has been involved in efforts with other stakeholders, including the City of San Marcos and Vallecitos Water District, to address pollution in Lake San Marcos, which was created by the damming of San Marcos Creek. To learn more about efforts to reduce pollution in Lake San Marcos and the Upper San Marcos Creek, click here.
Conversations at the Gym: Try Sustainable Gardening
Written by Jamie Ortiz
I love my community.
I live near a locally owned grocery story; I walk to work; I ride my bike to the beach, and I live just outside of the marine layer. I also just joined my community gym with its hometown feel and members who smile and say “hi” every morning. We trade the shiny leggings and fitted tanks for old tees and over-sized shorts. Some of my gym friends have grey hair and holes in their socks. And others might be their grandchildren. And we meet every morning (not too early, though, as we’re not the uber, time-crunched businesspeople) around an aging set of weights and those cute community bulletins that remind me of display cases in my elementary school hallways.
To my chagrin, a few weeks ago as I was running on the treadmill (it had been raining that week), I noticed the gardeners walking around with chemical tanks on their backs spraying to kill those pesky little bugs that nature lets crawl on vegetation. My disappointment in this pest-management decision quickly turned to worry as I realized the landscapers had squeezed the pesticide bath in between rainstorms.
Didn’t my community gym know that rain will wash the chemicals into our storm drains, which empty into our ocean?
I contacted the general manager to alert him to my concerns. When he responded to my email, he outlined a list of steps he had already taken to address the issues. His pest management company put the gym on an “IPM (Integrated Pest Management) program that limits pesticide use and replaces most pesticides with monitoring, baiting and inspection.” The company is also designing a new program for the gym and will implement it while keeping the GM informed on the changes.
Our staff scientist and lawyer inform me that an IPM isn’t the complete answer, but it's a better step in the right direction.
It also leaves a couple of questions unanswered:
1) What are the postponement plans if they had scheduled to apply pesticides and rain is forecast in the upcoming three days?
2) How does their pesticide plan coincide with their irrigation plan?
3) How will they decide future landscaping decisions to maximize native plants and minimize need for pesticides and water?
I offered for the GM to run his new plans by me for some additional feedback, which he said he would. While my story doesn't have an ending yet, it’s a reminder to me that humans—including me—only know what we know. And if we just take a few minutes to talk with one another, big change can happen.
And I'm curious what you think: Is an IPM enough?
