Lab to test water quality nears reality

June Casagrande

BACK BAY -- A serene spot on Shellmaker Island will soon be the center

of some of the nation’s most advanced environmental science.

The new site of the county’s Water Quality Testing Laboratory, to be

housed temporarily in a triple-wide trailer on Shellmaker Island, will

seek more efficient ways of testing for dangerous microorganisms in local

waters.

The lab will be the first visible element of a marine studies center

that will eventually provide education and public outreach services,

including an artificial tide pool for students to explore.

At its existing lab in Santa Ana, the county now tests about 150

samples from Orange County waters each week. Beginning in about eight

weeks, all these specimens will be tested at Shellmaker.

“It’s close to the coast and centralized for all of Orange County,”

said Doug Moore, director of the Orange County Public Health Laboratory.

The Department of Fish and Game is donating the land, where the

county, the city and UC Irvine will collaborate to improve beach water

safety and public education. UCI will build a new crew building there and

participate in research and education.

The city, which has approved the project, will kick in about $500,000

to construct the $4.5-million center.

“We’re hoping this will be one of the most cutting-edge water quality

labs in the nation,” said Dave Kiff, assistant city manager for Newport

Beach.

The lab will try to better identify sources of illness-causing

pollutants, environmental activist Jack Skinner said.

“This could eventually save billions spent trying to clean up every

creek by determining which are the ones that pose a health threat,”

Skinner said.

To achieve this end, the lab will try to harness some of the most

promising technologies science has to offer.

For example, it’s known that microorganisms from human waste pose a

greater health risk than the same microorganisms from animal waste. But

until now, researchers haven’t had efficient ways to distinguish between

the two. Science may have an answer.

By treating bacteria samples such has enterococcus with antibiotics,

researchers can measure their level of resistance to the treatment. More

resistant germs probably come from humans because people are exposed to

antibiotics and, as a result, their germs adapt to better survive

antibiotic treatment.

These and other tests slated for the center could mean more rapid

detection of health risks. The county now puts up warnings about bacteria

levels and beach closures about 24 hours after the unclean water samples

are taken from the bay or beaches. Researchers hope that greatly reducing

this turnaround time is just one of the benefits the new lab will bring.

The permanent structure should be complete by 2003.

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .