OCTA funds to help protect Aliso Viejo’s waterways

Aliso Viejo was awarded more than $93,000 in waterway improvement funding on Aug. 8 from the Orange County Transportation Authority’s Measure M2 environmental program.

The program funds projects to protect county waterways and beaches from pollution generated by transportation.

Aliso Viejo plans to match the funding with $40,000 of its own money.

“As we continue to meet the transportation needs of our county, we have to remember how critical it is to protect and preserve our environment from the impacts of our projects,” OCTA Chairwoman and the Fifth District county Supervisor Patricia Bates said in a statement. “Orange County voters approved using a percentage of M2 to keep our oceans clean, which will make a long-lasting, positive impact on our quality of life and economy.”

The money will go to reducing litter and debris in storm drains and the installation of 40 catch basin screens that prevent the litter from getting into drainage systems.

More than 70 million gallons of polluted runoff enters Orange County’s waterways and beaches every day, according to OCTA.

For more information, visit octa.net/water.

—Joanna Clay